[Concentration of serum leptin and age in Chinese women and comparison with other races].

Abstract

To determine the relationship between concentration of serum leptin and age in females, and to establish the reference value and compare it with other races.
Serum leptin concentration of 690 adult healthy women (aged 20 approximately 81 years) was measured with ELISA.
The serum leptin concentration increased with age (r=0.224, P<0.001), and cubic regression was the best-fitting model. Leptin concentration had significant positive correlation with weight (r=0.574) and body mass index (r=0.618). The geometric mean of leptin concentration in normal weight, overweight and obesity was (8.94+/-1.82), (17.6+/-1.89), and (34.7+/-1.69) microg/L, respectively, with significant difference among the 3 groups (P<0.001). Leptin in pre-menopause, peri-menopause and post-menopause women was (9.68+/-1.81), (11.7+/-1.89), and (11.4+/-2.21) microg/L, respectively. The reference value of serum leptin in normal weight females was 5.30 approximately 12.6 microg/L. The curve-fitting of leptin with age in this group was significantly lower than American non Hispanic White (NHW), non Hispanic Black (NHB), and American Mexican (AM) females.
This study provides reliable reference value of serum leptin in adult women and discovers ethnic difference with American NHW, NHB, and AM females.