Remnant Cholesterol and Leptin: Any Association in Normal Weight, Over Weight and Obese Individuals in South East Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction: Leptin circulating levels increase with weight gain and decrease with weight loss. The amount of leptin circulating in the body is proportional to an individual's fat. We investigated the association of leptin and remnant cholesterol in normal-weight, overweight and obese participants in southeast Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional random study. A total of 90 healthy obese, overweight, and normal-weight participants who met the inclusion criteria were randomly enrolled in the study. They were grouped using their body mass index of 18.5 to 24.9 kg/m2 (average weight), 25 to 29.9 kg/m2 (overweight), and ≥30 kg/m2 (obese). The measured parameters were analyzed using standard methods. Results: Our results showed that there was a progressive increase of remnant cholesterol among the group, but there was no statistical difference (p>0.05) in the mean calculated remnant cholesterol (mmol/l) between the obese (0.72±0.4mmol/l), overweight (0.68±0.46), and average weight (0.50±0.28mmol/l) participants. There was a significant difference in the mean level of Leptin (ug/l) of the obese participants compared to regular weight participants (0.63±0.29 vs. 0.25±0.26, 0.001) and overweight when compared to average weight (0.51±0.27 vs. 0.25±0.26, 0.003). Remnant cholesterol did not correlate with body mass index (BMI) in those that are obese, overweight, or normal weight. Leptin correlated positively with BMI but inversely with Remnant cholesterol. Conclusion: The result obtained from this study suggests that leptin has a positive relationship with BMI, and calculated Remnant cholesterol does not appear to have a direct relationship with obesity. There was no association between leptin and remnant cholesterol among the groups.

Comparative Study of Remnant Cholesterol, Some Lipid Fractions and FBS Level in Overweight and Obese Participants in South East Nigeria

“…RC has considered to be the main factor mediating the residual risk of major cardiovascular events [40,20,[41][42][43][44]. It has been stipulated that remnants cholesterol can be taken up directly by the microphages, thereby converting such cells into foam cells, which is the hallmark of atherosclerosis lesions and the hydrolysis of triglyceride in remnant particles at the endothelial surface or within the arterial intima may generate local inflammation [21,22]. However our findings showed that the risk of cardiovascular accidents by high levels of remnants cholesterol may not be sorely driven by BMI and level of fat tissues, this was observed in some overweight and normal weight individual with high level of remnant cholesterol, this was in accordance with the findings of Chinonso et al 2021.…”

“…"Remnant cholesterol has been suggested as a link from obesity to ischemic disease, i.e., a part of the elevation risk of ischemic heart disease observed in obese individuals was explain by higher remnant cholesterol concentration" [3,[19][20][21][22]. It is also known as remnant lipoprotein, which has been said to be very athrogenic lipoprotein and comprised primarily of very low density lipoprotein (VLDL), Intermediate density lipoprotein (IDL), and chylomicrons.…”