Correlation of Leptin With Acute Myocardial Infarction: A Case Control Study

Leptin, a satiety hormone, has the ability to inhibit hunger and is thus, a regulator of body weight. Leptin is also elevated in cardiovascular events such as acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and hence is considered as modifiable risk factors for AMI. The purpose of this study is therefore to investigate the correlation of leptin with AMI.

In this retrospective study, data of patients were taken from the database between January 2017 to December 2019 from a cardiovascular unit of tertiary care hospital in Pakistan. Patients were divided into two groups, based on participants who had suffered from AMI and other groups who had not suffered an AMI. Leptin levels were compared for both groups. Age, body mass index (BMI), and smoking history were noted in a self-structured questionnaire. In addition, mean blood pressure and cholesterol levels were also noted for both groups.

Leptin was significantly higher in patients with first time AMI (29.21 ± 9.21 ng/mL vs. 11.23 ± 3.12 ng/mL: p-value, <0.0001). BMI (27.2 ± 3.2 kg/m² vs. 24.9 ± 2.8 kg/m²: p-value, <0.0001) and percentage of smokers (40.9% vs. 22.9%: p-value, 0.032) were also significantly higher in patients with AMI.

A positive correlation was found between AMI and serum leptin levels in smokers and obese patients. Hence, we suggest that cardiologists should stress upon controlling these modifiable risk factors to reduce the incidence of AMI in the future.