title: Serum leptin levels in type 1 diabetic and obese children: relation to insulin levels.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Osmangazi University Faculty of Medicine, Eskişehir, Turkey. bkirel@ogu.edu.tr
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kirel
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Doğruel
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Korkmaz
authors.forename: F S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Kiliç
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ozdamar
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Uçar
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D002096:C-Peptide; D007328:Insulin; D020738:Leptin