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Developmental changes in leptin as a measure of energy status in human infants in a natural ecologic setting
Andrew Collinson1, Sophie Moore, Maria O'Connell
1Public Health Nutrition Unit, MRC International Nutrition Group, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
Insights
Leptin levels in African infants signal energy status from birth, with increasing accuracy as they grow. This hormone helps assess fat stores and changes in energy status throughout infancy.
Area of Science:
- Human physiology
- Pediatric endocrinology
- Nutritional science
Background:
- Human leptin research often focuses on well-nourished individuals or specific clinical conditions.
- Limited data exists on leptin's role in energy status monitoring in diverse populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate leptin development as an energy status indicator in young African infants.
- To understand leptin's role in infants with growth patterns potentially representing an evolutionary norm.
Main Methods:
- Prospective birth cohort study of 138 rural Gambian mother-infant pairs.
- Plasma leptin measured in maternal, cord, and infant blood (8, 16, 52 weeks).
- Body Mass Index (BMI) used as a proxy for adiposity; infants exhibited poor growth compared to Western standards.
Main Results:
- Positive correlation between maternal/cord leptin, birth weight, and infant BMI throughout infancy.
- Sex differences in leptin concentrations observed at birth and reappeared at 16 and 52 weeks.
- Leptin concentrations decreased significantly from birth to 52 weeks, but its ability to discriminate BMI improved with age.
Conclusions:
- Leptin concentrations reflect energy status from fetal development through infancy.
- Leptin's capacity to assess both chronic and dynamic energy status increases with infant age.
- Effective energy status discrimination by leptin occurs at progressively lower concentrations as infants mature.
Background:
Most human research on leptin has involved well-nourished subjects or clinical states such as anorexia nervosa or cancer cachexia.
Objective:
We studied the development of leptin as a monitor of energy status in young African infants whose growth patterns probably reflect the evolutionary norm.
Design:
We enrolled a prospective birth cohort of 138 rural Gambian mother-infant pairs. Plasma leptin was analyzed in maternal blood in late pregnancy, in cord blood, and at 8, 16, and 52 wk in the infants. Body mass index (BMI; in kg/m2) was used as a proxy for fatness. The mothers were lean (BMI: 21.6+/-2.5), and the infants grew poorly compared with Western standards (average weight-for-age z score of -1.9 at 52 wk).
Results:
Maternal and cord blood leptin and birth weight were all positively correlated. Throughout infancy, leptin was highly correlated with BMI. A strong sex difference existed at birth (ie, leptin concentrations were significantly higher in females than in males), disappeared at 8 wk, and reappeared at 16 and 52 wk. Absolute leptin concentrations declined by almost 90% from birth to 52 wk, but leptin's ability to discriminate across a range of BMI values improved with age. In early infancy, leptin concentrations were uncorrelated with recent changes in BMI, but, by 52 wk, leptin was able to assess both the size of energy stores and the direction of recent changes.
Conclusions:
Leptin concentrations signal energy status from fetal life onward. As infancy progresses, leptin's power to discriminate both chronic and dynamic energy status increases, and this discrimination is achieved at much lower circulating peptide concentrations.
