Context: Resistin is a hormone that has been linked to insulin resistance, inflammatory processes and coronary heart disease in case control studies; however, prospective data on the association between plasma resistin levels and future risk of cardiovascular disease are lacking.

Objective: To investigate the association between plasma resistin levels and risk of future myocardial infarction (MI) and ischemic stroke (IS) in a large prospective cohort.

Methods: We investigated the association between plasma resistin levels and risk of myocardial infarction (MI) and ischemic stroke (IS) in a case-cohort design among 26,490 middle-aged subjects from the European Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-Potsdam Study without history of MI or stroke at time of blood draw. Plasma resistin levels were measured in baseline blood samples of 139 individuals who developed MI, in 97 who developed IS, and in 817 individuals who remained free of cardiovascular events during a mean follow-up of 6 years.

Results: After multivariable adjustment for established cardiovascular risk factors including C-reactive protein, individuals in the highest compared to the lowest quartile of plasma resistin levels had a significantly increased risk of MI (relative risk, 2.09; 95%CI 1.01-4.31; p for trend=0.01). In contrast, plasma resistin levels were not significantly associated with risk of IS (relative risk, 0.94; 95% CI 0.51-1.73; p for trend=0.88).

Conclusion: Our data suggest that high plasma resistin levels are associated with an increased risk of MI but not with risk of IS. Further studies are needed to evaluate the predictive value of plasma resistin levels for cardiovascular disease.