title: Leptin: a significant indicator of total body fat but not of visceral fat and insulin insensitivity in African-American women.
abstract: The recently cloned adipose tissue hormone leptin has been proposed to be involved in the neuroendocrine regulation of adiposity and its metabolic sequelae. Visceral fat is known to predict reduced insulin sensitivity and associated adverse metabolic profiles. In this study, we report the first evaluation of the relationships between leptin levels and total body fat, visceral fat, and insulin sensitivity in a cohort of premenopausal African-American women. Thirty-four subjects were analyzed for total fat mass and visceral fat by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and computerized axial tomography, respectively. Insulin sensitivity (SI) was assessed using Bergman's minimal model. Results showed that fasting leptin levels strongly correlated with total body fat mass (r = 0.797, P < 0.001). Correlations of leptin with visceral fat (r = 0.54, P < 0.001) and SI (r = -0.419, P = 0.02) were dependent on total body fat. In conclusion, leptin levels reflect total body fat mass, and although visceral fat is known to predict reduced insulin sensitivity independently, leptin did not. Our data thus suggest that diverse mechanisms are responsible for the regulation of total body versus visceral fat distribution, with its metabolic and health risks.
authors.affiliation: Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Clinical Nutrition, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dua
authors.forename: M I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Hennes
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Maas
authors.forename: G R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Krakower
authors.forename: G E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Sonnenberg
authors.forename: A H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Kissebah
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D000886:Anthropometry; D015415:Biomarkers; D001824:Body Constitution; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D000078790:Insulin Secretion; D020738:Leptin; D017697:Premenopause; D011506:Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology; D012044:Regression Analysis; D044465:White People; D014922:Wisconsin
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D007328:Insulin; D020738:Leptin; D011506:Proteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins