Elevated Serum Leptin Concentrations in Women with Hyperuricemia.

Abstract

The serum uric acid level has been said to be an independent predictor of cardiovascular disease death, mainly for women, and to be linked with the metabolic Syndrome X of insulin resistance, obesity, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. Recently, it has been suggested that the elevation of serum leptin, the ob gene product, may have a role in metabolic Syndrome X. Therefore, we studied the relationship of uric acid to leptin in 822 Japanese women in a cross-sectional manner. To estimate the effect of uric acid on the variables of metabolic Syndrome X, we calculated mean values of various components of the syndrome according to tertiles of uric acid (UA < 4.0 mg/dl, 4.0 < or = UA < 5.5, 5.5 < or = UA). Age, systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP), body mass index (BMI), percent body fat mass (BFM), serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, atherogenic index, leptin, fasting immunoreactive insulin and homeostasis model assessment-ratio (HOMA-R: calculated insulin resistance) were significantly different across the uric acid tertiles with higher levels in the highest tertile in comparison to the first (ANOVA, p < 0.001, 0.001, 0.002, 0.001, 0.001, 0.025, 0.001, 0.001, 0.001, 0.001, 0.001, respectively), while high density lipoprotein cholesterol showed lower levels (p < 0.001). Serum leptin concentrations were also elevated in hyperuricemic women after adjusting for BMI or BFM (both p < 0.001), and were weakly correlated with serum uric acid concentrations (r = 0.22, p < 0.0001). BMI, HOMA-R, serum triglyceride, diastolic BP and age-adjusted serum leptin concentrations were calculated for each tertile of serum uric acid. Compared with the lowest tertile of uric acid level, BMI, HOMA-R, serum triglyceride, diastolic BP and age-adjusted leptin concentrations were higher in the highest tertile. In the stepwise regression analysis, serum leptin was the significant independent variable for uric acid values. These results indicate an independent relationship between leptin and uric acid, further supporting the involvement of leptin in metabolic Syndrome X.

Inverse relationship between plasma adiponectin and leptin concentrations in normal-weight and obese women

“…However, they have also been observed in patients with insulin resistance, dyslipidemia and hyperuricemia, after adjustment for body composition (8,25,26). Bouloumie et al (9,10) reported that leptin exerts angiogenic and atherogenic effects through the generation of oxidative stress in endothelial cells.…”

Effect of Fenofibrate on Uric Acid Metabolism in Japanese Hyperlipidemic Patients

“…Especially in women, there is positive correlation between serum uric acid level and leptin concentration (7). Some authors report that serum uric acid level is well correlated to prognosis of patients with type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease (32)(33)(34).…”

“…Patients with hyperuricemia have been increasing for several decades in Japan and it is thought that the increase is closely related to the change of life style in Japan (2,3). Recently hyperuricemia has been considered as one component of multiple-risk factor syndromes, especially the visceral fat and the serum triglyceride concentrations are closely correlated to the serum uric acid concentrations (4)(5)(6)(7). Analogous conditions to multiple-risk factor syndromes such as Syndrome X, visceral fat syndrome, and the deadly quartet are now termed "metabolic syndrome" (8).…”

The metabolic syndrome: an emerging risk state for cardiovascular disease

“…173,174 In addition, hyperuricemia is positively correlated with leptin and CRP, both of which have emerged as important components of the metabolic syndrome. 175,176 Therefore, some investigators suggest that hyperuricemia should be added to the cluster of biochemical and clinical features associated with the metabolic syndrome.…”