Summary
We analysed whether pre‐ and post‐transplant serum adiponectin levels in renal transplant patients were associated with new‐onset diabetes after transplantation (NODAT). The mean post‐transplant follow‐up duration was 47.9 months. Of 98 previously non‐diabetic renal transplant patients, 12 were diagnosed with NODAT and 86 without (non‐NODAT). There was a significant inverse correlation between mean post‐transplant serum adiponectin level and homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA‐IR) (r = −0.22, P = 0.03), and a positive correlation between follow‐up duration after transplantation and HOMA‐IR (r = 0.28, P = 0.005). The mean pre‐ and post‐transplant serum adiponectin levels in NODAT patients were significantly lower than those in non‐NODAT patients (13.3 vs. 21.0 μg/ml and 13.0 vs. 16.4 μg/ml, P = 0.01 and 0.03 respectively). In addition, the post‐transplant serum adiponectin level in patients treated with tacrolimus (TAC) was significantly lower than that in patients with cyclosporine (14.3 vs. 18.7 μg/ml, P = 0.01), while, that level in patients treated with angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB) was significantly higher than that in patients without treatment of ARB (17.9 vs. 14.7 μg/ml, P = 0.01). Our results indicate that post‐transplant serum adiponectin levels are decreased after transplantation in association with insulin resistance in the development of NODAT, and that TAC and ARB influence the level of adiponectin in serum.