Plasma leptin concentrations are related to body fat mass and gender but not to thyroid dysfunction

Leptin, a newly defined protein synthesized and secreted from fat cells in both animals and humans, has gained wide attention. Many studies have been conducted on its roles in the regulation of body fat storage, energy expenditure and body weight changes. Thyroid dysfunction is known to have influences on the above changes in humans and these changes may in turn lead to a variation in circulating leptin levels. In addition, a sex dimorphism of plasma leptin levels has been a constant finding in many studies. However, the relationship between body fat mass and gender to plasma leptin levels in patients with various thyroid dysfunction has been rarely discussed together. A total of 134 patients with various thyroid function status were included in this study (hyperthyroidism: n = 50, hypothyroidism: n = 24, and euthyroidism: n = 60). Plasma leptin concentrations were compared between different thyroid function groups, and compared with body fat mass and body mass index (kg/m2) to check if these two parameters affect the circulating leptin levels. There were no significant differences between plasma leptin concentrations in the different thyroid function groups (Mean +/- SD: hyperthyroidism: 8.5 +/- 5.4 ng/ml, range: 1.5-25.8; hypothyroidism: 8.4 +/- 4.7 ng/ml, range: 1.8-20.1, and euthyroidism: 7.3 +/- 4.5 ng/ml, range: 0.6-20.9). Rather, a significant gender difference was found, with female subjects having two-fold higher levels than males when all study subjects were encompassed (female: 8.8 +/- 4.9 ng/ml, range: 11.7-25.8 vs male: 4.1 +/- 2.1 ng/ml, range 0.6-8.1, p < 0.001) or when thyroid function status was analyzed separately (hyperthyroidism: female: 9.7 +/- 5.5 ng/ml vs male: 4.3 +/- 2.1 ng/ml, p < 0.001; hypothyroidism: female: 9.7 +/- 4.6 ng/ml vs male: 4.4 +/- 2.4 ng/ml, p = 0.015; and euthyroidism: female: 7.9 +/- 4.5 ng/ml vs male: 3.6 +/- 1.9 ng/ml, p = 0.013). Plasma leptin concentrations had strong correlation with body fat mass in both females (r = 0.47, p < 0.001) and males (r = 0.71, p < 0.001). Good correlation was also observed between plasma leptin concentrations and body mass index in females (r = 0.51, p < 0.001) and males (r = 0.78, p < 0.001). Plasma leptin concentrations were not different in thyroid dysfunction. A significant gender difference existed and a positive correlation between body fat mass and BMI to plasma leptin was observed.