Leptin Predicts Diabetes but Not Cardiovascular Disease
Results from a large prospective study in an elderly population
- Paul Welsh, PHD1,
- Heather M. Murray, MSC2,
- Brendan M. Buckley, FRCPI3,
- Anton J.M. de Craen, PHD4,
- Ian Ford, PHD2,
- J. Wouter Jukema, MD5,
- Peter W. Macfarlane, DSC1,
- Chris J. Packard, DSC1,
- David J. Stott, FRCPI1,
- Rudi G.J. Westendorp, MD, PHD4,
- James Shepherd, MD, PHD1 and
- Naveed Sattar, MD, PHD1
- 1Faculty of Medicine, University of Glasgow, Scotland, U.K.
- 2Robertson Centre for Biostatistics, University of Glasgow, Scotland, U.K.
- 3Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Cork University Hospital, Wilton, Cork, Ireland
- 4Department of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Leiden University Medical Centre, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- 5Department of Cardiology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Corresponding author: Paul Welsh, p.welsh{at}clinmed.gla.ac.uk
Abstract
OBJECTIVE—To clarify the association of circulating levels of leptin with risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) events and new-onset diabetes in men and women.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—We related baseline leptin levels to CVD events (n = 864) and incident diabetes (n = 289) in an elderly population (n = 5,672) over 3.2 years of follow-up.
RESULTS—In treatment-, age-, and country-adjusted models, leptin was not associated with risk of CVD in men (hazard ratio 1.02 [95% CI 0.90–1.16] per unit log-leptin increase) or women (1.05 [0.91–1.20]) but was associated with risk of diabetes in men (2.75 [2.14–3.52]) and women (1.54 [1.22–1.94]). After adjusting for classic risk factors and BMI, C-reactive protein, and glucose, the diabetes association retained significance in men (1.85 [1.30–2.63]) but not in women (0.89 [0.64–1.26]).
CONCLUSIONS—Leptin, similar to other markers of adiposity in general, is more strongly related to risk of diabetes than CVD in the elderly.
Footnotes
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Published ahead of print at http://care.diabetesjournals.org on 10 November 2008.
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- Accepted October 30, 2008.
- Received August 27, 2008.
- DIABETES CARE
