Leptin is not associated independently with hypertension in Japanese-Brazilian women

Abstract

We evaluated the relationship of leptin with hypertension adjusted for body mass index (BMI) and/or waist circumference in a population of Japanese-Brazilian women aged ≥30 years with centrally distributed adiposity. After excluding diabetic subjects, the study subjects -who participated in a population-based study on the prevalence of metabolic syndrome -showed prevalence rates of obesity (BMI ≥25 kg/m 2 ) and central adiposity (waist ≥80 cm) of 32.0 and 37.8%, respectively. The hypertensive group (N = 162) was older, had higher BMI (24.9 ± 4.2 vs 23.3 ± 3.4 kg/m 2 , P < 0.001), waist circumference (81.1 ± 10.1 vs 76.3 ± 8.2 cm, P < 0.001) and insulin levels (8.0 ± 6.2 vs 7.1 ± 4.9 µU/mL, P < 0.05) than the normotensive group (N = 322) and showed an unfavorable metabolic profile (higher 2-h plasma glucose, Creactive protein and non-HDL cholesterol levels). Leptin did not differ between groups (8.2 ± 6.8 vs 7.2 ± 6.6 ng/mL, P = 0.09, for hypertensive vs normotensive, respectively) and its levels correlated significantly with anthropometric variables but not with blood pressure. Logistic regression analysis indicated that age and waist were independently associated with hypertension but not with homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance or leptin levels. The lack of an independent association of hypertension with metabolic parameters (2-h glucose, C-reactive protein and non-HDL cholesterol) after adjustment for central adiposity suggested that visceral fat deposition may be the common mediator of the disturbances of the metabolic syndrome. Our data indicate that age and waist are major determinants of hypertension in this population of centrally obese (waist ≥80 cm) Japanese-Brazilian women, but do not support a role for leptin in the elevation of blood pressure.

Association between adipocytokines and insulin resistance in Indian hypertensive patients

“…[8][9][10][11][12]16 Among the adipocytokines an association between HT and adiponectin levels has been reported by several groups. 7,8,16,17 Although no association of adiponectin was found with BP and IR in our hypertensives, it is significantly associated with IR in controls exhibiting a physiological relationship.…”

“…[7][8][9][10][11] Among the adipocytokines, leptin is a hormone which is predominantly secreted by the adipose tissue. Recent studies have shown that leptin increases arterial BP.…”

“…Although data from available animal studies clearly indicate an association between leptin and HT, results of human studies have been less definitive. [9][10][11][12][13][14][15] Though several studies have shown that adiponectin correlates negatively with BP, the results of studies on the relation between adiponectin and HT have been inconsistent. 7,8,16,17 Resistin, a novel cysteine-rich protein secreted by adipocytes, has been proposed to serve as a link between obesity and IR in rodents, but this has remained controversial.…”

Leptin in obesity and hypertension

“…Leptin has been found to have strong correlation with degree of adiposity, but whether this high leptin levels contribute independently to elevated blood pressure is not known [18]. A good number of studies have observed a strong correlation between leptin and hypertension in animals as well as humans implicating leptin to have a significant contribution in the pathophysiology of obesity induced hypertension [19][20][21][22][23][24][25], however, some studies were not able to demonstrate the same results to provide an irrefutable evidence of this association [26].…”