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Effect of puberty on the relationship between circulating leptin and body composition
M B Horlick1, M Rosenbaum, M Nicolson
1Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York 10032, USA.
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism
|July 21, 2000
Summary
Leptin levels correlate with fat mass in children and adolescents. A sexual dimorphism emerges during puberty, with females having higher leptin levels relative to fat mass than males, influenced by gonadal steroids.
Area of Science:
- Endocrinology
- Human Physiology
- Pediatric Health
Background:
- Circulating leptin concentrations correlate with fat mass (FM) and exhibit sexual dimorphism (females > males) at birth and in adulthood.
- The presence of this sexual dimorphism during the interval between childhood and adulthood (puberty) remains controversial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between circulating leptin concentrations and body composition before and during puberty.
- To evaluate the influence of sexual maturation and gender on leptin levels in children and adolescents.
Main Methods:
- Assessed body composition (dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, anthropometry) and clinical/endocrine aspects of sexual maturation (Tanner staging, plasma estradiol, testosterone, gonadotropins) in 102 children (6-19 yr).
- Measured circulating leptin concentrations using a solid-phase sandwich enzyme immunoassay.
- Analyzed gender and maturational effects on leptin-FM relationship using ANOVA and stepwise multiple linear regression.
Main Results:
- Plasma leptin concentrations significantly correlated with FM across all Tanner stages in both genders.
- Leptin levels normalized to FM were significantly higher in females than males at Tanner stages IV and V.
- Leptin levels normalized to FM declined in males and rose in females late in puberty, establishing a late-pubertal/adult sexual dimorphism, with gonadal steroids playing a mediating role.
Conclusions:
- A significant gender-specific shift in the leptin-fat mass relationship occurs during puberty.
- Gonadal steroids are potent mediators of the sexual dimorphism in circulating leptin concentrations observed in late puberty and adulthood.