Abstract

Objective: Resistin is a small, cysteine-rich proinflammatory molecule that is primarily secreted by peripheral blood mononuclear cells and macrophages in humans. Previous studies have shown resistin to participate in various pathological processes including atherosclerosis and cancer progression but not many studies have assessed the role of resistin as a risk factor for all-cause mortality. The objective of this prospective study was to evaluate whether resistin predicts mortality among elderly Finnish people.

Methods: The study population consisted of 599 elderly (71.7 ± 5.4 years) patients and the follow-up was approximately six years. A thorough clinical examination including anthropometric and other clinical measurements such as blood pressure as well as various laboratory parameters (including resistin) was conducted at baseline.

Results: After the follow-up, 65 (11%) of the patients died. Resistin was a significant risk factor for all-cause mortality (HR 3.02, 95% CI: 1.64–5.56, p<0.001) when the highest tertile was compared to the lowest. Resistin remained as a significant risk factor even after adjusting for various covariates such as age, sex, systolic blood pressure, smoking habits, alcohol consumption, medications (antihypertensive, lipid-lowering, glucose-lowering), hsCRP and leisure time physical activity. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis for resistin demonstrated area under the curve (AUC) of 0.656 (95% CI: 0.577–0.734), p<0.001 and an optimal cutoff value of 12.88 ng/ml.

Conclusions: Our results indicate that resistin is a significant risk factor for all-cause mortality among elderly Finnish subjects, independent from traditional cardiovascular risk factors.