title: Leptin and uric acid as predictors of metabolic syndrome in jordanian adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a set of interrelated metabolic risk factors that increase the risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Studies regarding the specificity and sensitivity of serum levels of leptin and uric acid as predictors of MetS are limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate the serum levels of leptin and uric acid in terms of their specificity and sensitivity as predictors of MetS in the studied Jordanian group.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this cross sectional study, 630 adult subjects (308 men and 322 women) were recruited from the King Hussein Medical Center (Amman, Jordan). The diagnosis of MetS was made according to the 2005 International Diabetes Federation criteria. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to determine the efficacy of serum levels of leptin and uric acid as predictors of MetS in the studied Jordanian group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Study results showed that for identification of subjects with MetS risk, area under the curve (AUC) for leptin was 0.721 and 0.683 in men and women, respectively. Serum uric acid levels in men showed no significant association with any MetS risk factors and no significant AUC, while uric acid AUC was 0.706 in women.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Serum leptin levels can be useful biomarkers for evaluation of the risk of MetS independent of baseline obesity in both men and women. On the other hand, serum uric acid levels predicted the risk of MetS only in women.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Nutrition, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Taibah University, Yanbu Street, Yanbu 21911, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Ahmad A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Obeidat
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan.
authors.forename: Mousa N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Ahmad
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, King Hussein Medical Center, Amman, Jordan.
authors.forename: Fares H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Haddad
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Nutrition, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Firas S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Azzeh
keywords: Metabolic syndrome; leptin; uric acid