Carotid cross-sectional wall area is significantly associated with serum leptin levels, independent of body mass index: the SABPA study

Abstract

Hypertension and obesity are serious health burdens in sub-Saharan Africa. Urbanized Africans seem to be more susceptible to the development of these diseases than Caucasians. Current research suggests that leptin may be an important contributor to the development of hypertension and atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to investigate leptin levels and their associations with cardiovascular function in urbanized Africans and Caucasians. Serum leptin, ambulatory blood pressure and carotid intima-media thickness were measured, and the cross-sectional wall area (CSWA) was calculated. The results showed that Africans had higher leptin levels (Po0.001), ambulatory blood pressure (Po0.001), carotid intima-media thickness (Po0.01) and CSWA (Po0.01) than Caucasians. As we found no interaction between ethnicity and gender for the association between leptin and the cardiovascular variables, we focused mainly on the total group of Africans and Caucasians. In single, partial and multiple regression analyses, positive associations of ambulatory systolic blood pressure (b ¼ 0.256; Po0.001), diastolic blood pressure (b ¼ 0.143; P ¼ 0.012), pulse pressure (b ¼ 0.327; Po0.001) and CSWA (b ¼ 0.107; P ¼ 0.038) with leptin were observed. Even after adjusting for body mass index (BMI), the association between CSWA (b ¼ 0.107; P ¼ 0.038) and leptin remained. Our findings therefore suggest that leptin may contribute to the development of atherosclerosis, independent of BMI.

Leptin and the vasculature in young adults: The African‐PREDICT study

“…There was no interaction of ethnicity (Table ) between our variables of interest with leptin, but to further strengthen our findings and based on a previous study that has showed differences in leptin levels based on ethnicity, we also divided the subjects based on sex and ethnicity (Table ). Again, both the black and white men showed a negative association between CIMT (black men, Std β = −0.29; P = 0.034; R 2 = 0.08; white men, Std β = −0.24; P = 0.042; R 2 = 0.07) and CSWA (black men, Std β = −0.22; P = 0.038; R 2 = 0.10; white men, Std β = −0.25; P = 0.022; R 2 = 0.08) with leptin.…”

“…The presence of leptin's receptor within the vasculature also laid credence for leptin's involvement in the regulation of vascular function which itself has yielded conflicting reports . For example, leptin was shown to predict atherosclerosis, stroke, myocardial infarction and also coronary events in either overweight or obese individuals . In contrast, other studies have reported a vascular protective role of leptin against atherosclerosis in either overweight or obese humans or animals .…”

“…It is currently unknown whether leptin plays a role during the early phases of atherosclerosis development in young adults in the absence of overt CVD. Previous studies investigating the involvement of leptin in endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis development focused generally on older (mean age, 45 years) overweight or obese individuals, those with the metabolic syndrome (hypertension and diabetes), diseased (CVDs; myocardial infarction, coronary heart disease and stroke) or in Western populations . However, the role of leptin on vascular health especially in young adults (20‐30 years of age), and potential disparities in men and women at risk of obesity and CVD development, is unknown.…”

Resistant hypertension: epidemiology and risk factors

“…В исследовании NAS (Normotensive Aging Study) было показано, что с увеличением ИМТ и окружности талии повышается экскреция норадреналина с мочой. Повышение симпатических влияний также при-водит к увеличению секреции ренина почками [30].…”

Resistant Hypertension in a Patient With Metabolic Syndrome

“…В свою очередь повышенный уровень альдостеро-на плазмы является значимым фактором риска мета-болического синдрома [11]. Снижение веса у больных ожирением ведет к снижению концентрации альдо-стерона в плазме.…”