In addition, on performing a partial correlation analysis using BMI ─ which is generally regarded as an index indicating obesity ─ as a covariate, we found that the association between resistin and BVAS was lost; meanwhile, as shown in a previous study, when evaluating the relationship between disease activity and adipokines taking into consideration of BMI, it was revealed that BMI-adjusted resistin (resistin/BMI) was still associated with BVAS, indicating that a complex relationship is present concerning adipokines, adiposity, and disease activity in MPA and GPA. The gene discussed is RETN; the disease is obesity due to melanocortin 4 receptor deficiency.