Serum leptin levels in type 1 diabetic and obese children: relation to insulin levels.
OBJECTIVE
To compare serum leptin levels in type 1 diabetic and obese children.


METHODS
We studied serum leptin levels in 35 type 1 diabetic, 32 obese, and 35 healthy children. Seven of 35 were new-onset diabetics with ketoacidosis. C-peptide (CPE) levels were used for estimating insulin secretion.


RESULTS
Serum leptin levels were lower in diabetics than in controls (p<0.001). Obese children had higher leptin and CPE levels than diabetics and controls. In new-onset diabetics, 1 month insulin treatment did not cause any change in leptin levels (p>0.05). Leptin was correlated positively with body mass index and CPE (p<0.001) and inversely with glucose (p = 0.001) and HbA1c (p<0.05) in the combined group. HbA1c and gender were the independent predictors of leptin in diabetic children (p<0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
Low serum leptin levels in type 1 diabetic children may be due to chronic insulin deficiency related with their metabolic control. Leptin and insulin may have complementary roles in maintaining a stable body weight.
Kirel
B
B
Department of Pediatrics, Osmangazi University Faculty of Medicine, Eskişehir, Turkey. bkirel@ogu.edu.tr
Doğruel
N
N
Korkmaz
U
U
Kiliç
F S
FS
Ozdamar
K
K
Uçar
B
B
D000293:Adolescent; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002096:C-Peptide / Q000097:blood*; D002648:Child; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood*; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D016555:Matched-Pair Analysis; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood*; D013223:Statistics as Topic
D002096:C-Peptide; D007328:Insulin; D020738:Leptin