Korean J Obstet Gynecol.  2010 Mar;53(3):254-263. 10.5468/kjog.2010.53.3.254.

The relationship between serum leptin level and metabolic syndrome in postmenopausal women

• Lee SW
• Cho HH
• Kim MR
• Kwon DJ
• Kim EJ
• You YO
• Kim JH

• KMID: 2273851
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5468/kjog.2010.53.3.254

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
Menopause status may lead to increases of body fat, abdominal obesity, and the incidence of metabolic syndrome (MS). Leptin is an adipokine that is secreted by adipocytes and plays an important role in regulating energy homeostasis and the reproductive system. This study examined the relationship among obesity, MS, and serum leptin levels in pre- and postmenopausal women.
METHODS
We divided 168 women who visited St. Vincent Hospital of the Catholic University of Korea in 2006 and 2007 into premenopausal vs. postmenopausal, obese vs. non-obese groups based on their body mass index (BMI) and the presence of MS. We measured serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) level, serum estradiol level, BMI, the waist-hip ratio (WHR) and visceral fat area (VFA), serum fasting glucose, lipid profile, blood pressure, and serum leptin level.
RESULTS
Of 56 premenopausal and 112 postmenopausal women, there were 21 (37.5%) premenopausal and 51 (45.5%) postmenopausal women with MS. In the non-obese premenopausal and postmenopausal women, there were positive correlations between FSH, markers of abdominal obesity such as WHR and VFA, and serum leptin after adjusting for BMI in postmenopausal women. In the MS group, only WHR was correlated with the serum leptin level after adjusting for BMI in all groups.
CONCLUSION
Increased serum FSH level and abdominal obesity lead to an increased serum leptin level in postmenopausal women. Further studies are needed to clarify the relationship between leptin and the metabolic syndrome, risk of cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women.

Keyword

Leptin; Metabolic syndrome; Postmenopause

MeSH Terms

Adipocytes
Adipokines
Adipose Tissue
Blood Pressure
Body Mass Index
Cardiovascular Diseases
Estradiol
Fasting
Female
Follicle Stimulating Hormone
Glucose
Homeostasis
Humans
Incidence
Intra-Abdominal Fat
Korea
Leptin
Menopause
Obesity
Obesity, Abdominal
Postmenopause
Waist-Hip Ratio
Adipokines
Estradiol
Follicle Stimulating Hormone
Glucose
Leptin

Figure

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  Figure 1 Mean leptin concentrations by menopausal status in nonobese and obese groups. *P<0.05.

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  Figure 2 Correlation between serum leptin and serum FSH, estradiol after adjustment of BMI. There was a significant positive correlation between serum FSH and serum leptin concentration in non-obese women (r=0.286, P=0.029). But, there was a no correlation between serum FSH and serum leptin concentration in obese women (r=0.081, P=0.083). There were also no correlations between serum estradiol and serum leptin concentration in non-obese and obese women (r=0.032, p=0.090 and r=0.012, P=0.342, respectively). Correlation analyses used BMI adjusted linear regression analysis. BMI: body mass index, FSH: follicular stimulating hormone.

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