Aim: Visceral fat accumulation contributes to the development of metabolic syndrome. As visceral fat accumulation increases, adiponectin levels decrease; therefore, adiponectin provides a link between visceral fat accumulation and metabolic disorders. Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified genetic variations in the cadherin 13 (CDH13) gene that are associated with adiponectin levels.

Methods: We investigated whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in CDH13 was associated with adiponectin levels and metabolic syndrome traits independent of the visceral fat area (VFA), as measured using computed tomography (CT) in 945 Japanese individuals.

Results: We found that three CDH13 SNPs reported by recent GWASs (ie, rs3865188, rs4783244, and rs12051272) were significantly associated with higher adiponectin levels (P< 1× 10-14), even after adjustment for VFA. However, these adiponectin-inducing alleles of CDH13 SNPs were significantly associated with traits consistent with deteriorating metabolic symptoms, such as higher fasting insulin, homeostasis model assessment–insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) scores, and triglycerides and lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol levels, similar to increasing VFA and decreasing adiponectin levels.

Conclusion: These results suggested that CDH13 SNPs cause an adiponectin-resistant status to compensate for increasing adiponectin levels and could result in the deterioration of metabolic syndrome traits.