Insulin resistance, leptin and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 levels in diabetic and non-diabetic Afro-Caribbean subjects.
OBJECTIVE
To determine how the levels of leptin and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) are associated with insulin resistance (IR) in obese, non-obese, diabetic and non-diabetic subjects.


METHODS
112 type 2 diabetics and 43 non-diabetics were studied fasting. Anthropometric indices were measured and glucose, insulin, leptin and MCP-1 were measured in blood. IR was calculated.


RESULTS
MCP-1 level was significantly higher in diabetics than non-diabetics irrespective of gender (p < 0.05). Irrespective of diabetes status, the serum leptin concentration was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in obese and females subjects than in non-obese and male subjects respectively. There were no significant correlations between IR and MCP-1 or leptin in all subgroups of subjects studied. General linear modelling analysis showed that only diabetes state significantly predicted MCP-1 levels (p < 0.05) whereas non of the factors predicted leptin levels (p > 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Routine measurement of leptin and MCP-1 would be potentially useful in assessment of patients for the metabolic syndrome or coronary heart disease especially in black population.
Ezenwaka
C E
CE
The University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad. cezenwaka@fms.uwi.tt
Nwagbara
E
E
Seales
D
D
Okali
F
F
Sell
H
H
Eckel
J
J
D000349:Africa; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D018932:Chemokine CCL2 / Q000097:blood*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D044469:Racial Groups; D014300:Trinidad and Tobago
D018932:Chemokine CCL2; D020738:Leptin