title: Leptin levels in pre and post menopausal Pakistani women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the correlation of fasting serum leptin levels with anthropometric measurements and menopausal status, in women.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study comprised of 80 non-obese women who were divided into 2 groups as pre-menopausal (n=46) and post-menopausal (n=34). Anthropometric measurements i.e. height, weight, waist and hip circumference were measured for all the subjects and the Waist-hip Ratio (WHR) and Body Mass Index (BMI) were calculated from these measurements. A fasting venous blood sample was taken from all the subjects and serum leptin concentrations were determined by ELISA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A comparison of the mean values for BMI and WHR between the two groups showed a non significant difference. Within each group, significant associations were noted between the fasting serum leptin level and values of BMI and WHR. A comparison of the mean serum leptin concentrations between the two groups, showed a highly significant difference (p<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results indicate that in the non-obese women of our population, leptin levels associate with BMI and WHR and together with menopausal status seem to be important determinants of serum leptin levels.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Karachi Medical and Dental College, Karachi University.
authors.forename: Nishat
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ayub
authors.forename: Sohail Rafi
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Fauzia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Syed
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000097:blood*; D017697:Premenopause / Q000097:blood*; D012016:Reference Values
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D020738:Leptin