Abstract: Objective To observe the levels of serum adiponectin (ADPN) and leptin, and their correlations to chronic inflammation and dyslipidemia in patients on maintenance hemodialysis (MHD). Methods We measured serum ADPN, leptin, albumin, serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, lipoproteins, C-reactive protein (CRP) in 79 MHD patents and 26 healthy individuals. Their body mass index (BMI) and waist to hip ratio (WHR) were calculated and correlated with serum ADPN and leptin. Results Serum ADPN and leptin were significantly higher in MHD patients than tin healthy individuals (P＜0.01). ADPN was negatively correlated with BMI, WHR, CRP and leptin, and was positively correlated with total cholesterol and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (P＜0.05). Leptin was positively correlated with age, BMI, WHR and triglycerides, and was negatively correlated with HDL-C (P＜0.05). In patients with chronic inflammation, serum ADPN was lower, but serum leptin was higher. Conclusion Serum ADPN and leptin increased significantly in MHD patients, which closely correlate to chronic inflammation and dyslipidemia. Therefore, the higher serum ADPN and leptin may have important roles in the pathogenesis of cardiocerebral vascular diseases.

Key words: Leptin, Chronic inflammation, Lipid metabolism, Hemodialysis