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Relationship between high plasma leptin concentrations and metabolic syndrome in obese pre-pubertal children
1Clinical Laboratory Department, Valle de los Pedroches Hospital, Pozoblanco, Córdoba, Spain. labpozo@mx3.redestb.es
Insights
Serum leptin levels are higher in obese children and correlate with metabolic syndrome indicators. High leptin resistance may contribute to metabolic syndrome development in this age group.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Endocrinology
- Metabolic Disorders
Background:
- Obesity in pre-pubertal children is a growing concern.
- Metabolic syndrome is increasingly diagnosed in pediatric populations.
- Leptin, a key hormone in energy balance, is implicated in obesity and metabolic dysfunction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between serum leptin levels and metabolic syndrome components in obese pre-pubertal children.
- To examine the relationship between leptin, fasting insulin, and anthropometric indices.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 41 obese children (aged 6-9 years) and 41 non-obese controls.
- Measurements included body mass index (BMI), waist/hip ratio (WHR), blood pressure, serum leptin, glucose, insulin, lipid profile, SHBG, PAI-1, t-PA, and fibrinogen.
Main Results:
- Obese children exhibited significantly higher serum leptin levels compared to controls.
- Leptin positively correlated with BMI, insulin, triglycerides, PAI-1, and t-PA in obese children.
- Leptin was an independent predictor of basal insulin, while insulin and BMI were independent predictors of leptin.
Conclusions:
- Elevated leptin levels and potential leptin resistance may be associated with metabolic syndrome in obese pre-pubertal children.
- Leptin might play an indirect role in metabolic syndrome pathogenesis by modulating insulin action.
Objective:
To evaluate the relationship between serum leptin levels and metabolic syndrome, fasting insulin level and anthropometric index in obese pre-pubertal children.
Design:
A cross-sectional study was carried out on obese children.
Subjects:
A study was made of 41 obese children (aged 6-9 y) and the same number of non-obese children (control group), matched by age and sex.
Methods:
Body mass index (BMI), waist/hip ratio (WHR) and blood pressure were determined in each child. Serum leptin, glucose, insulin, lipid profile, sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), tissue-plasminogen activator (t-PA) and fibrinogen were all measured.
Results:
The serum leptin level was significantly higher in obese children (15.47 vs 4.73 ng/ml). In the obese group, leptin showed a positive correlation with BMI (P<0.001), insulin (P<0.001), triglycerides (P<0.05), PAI-1 (P<0.05) and t-PA (P<0.05), and correlated negatively with SHBG (P<0.01), apolipoprotein A-I (P<0.05) and high-density lipoproteins cholesterol (HDL-C) (P<0.05). Corrected for BMI and WHR, leptin (P partial=0.002) is only an independent predictive factor for basal insulin. Using multivariant regression analysis, only insulin (P partial=0.003) and BMI (P partial=0.018) were independent predictive factors for leptin.
Conclusion:
For this age group, high leptin resistance may be another component of metabolic syndrome, and may be involved in its etiopathogenesis. The involvement of leptin in this syndrome may be indirect, modulating the insulin's action.