Correlation between leptin serum levels with lipid profile and anthropometric indices in women with different grades of obesity

Abstract

Background and Objective: Leptin is a 16 KDa peptide which has a close correlation with adiposity. However, its effect on lipid profile is controversial in human. Therefore, this study was performed to investigate correlation between variations in serum leptin levels with lipid profile and anthropometric indices in women with different grades of obesity. Materials and Methods: The current cross-sectional study was carried out on 149 healthy non-diabetic women, including 33 normal weight (BMI<24.9 kg/m2) and 116 women with different grades of obesity (BMI>25 kg/m2) with age range of 15-49 years, respectively. Serum levels of leptin, fasting blood glucose and lipid profile (total cholesterol, triglyceride and HDL-cholesterol) were measured using high-sensitive immunoassay, glucose oxidase and enzymatic methods, respectively. Results: Mean serum leptin levels were 15.34, 32.78, 42.13, 43.22 and 45.23 ng/ml in normal, overweight, obese grade I, obese grade II, and obese grade III women, respectively. Difference in mean of leptin serum level, lipid profile, and anthropometric indices was statistically significant between different groups (p<0.001). Leptin Serum levels had significant correlation with BMI (p<0.05, r=0.623). In addition, it showed a direct significant correlation with levels of fasting blood glucose (r=0.297) and lipid profile [total cholesterol (r=0.347), triglyceride (r=0.428), and LDL-cholesterol (0.367)] (p<0.05). In contrast, it showed an indirect correlation with HDL-C serum levels (r= -0.320, p<0.05). Conclusion: Results of the current study showed that leptin serum level has a close direct correlation with adiposity indices and lipid profile and its level increases significantly with increasing grades of obesity.