Abstract
Purpose: This study investigates correlations between mother and infant Body Mass Index (BMI), their serum leptin values and breast milk leptin concentration in early infancy. Subjects and Methods: We determined serum leptin values in 58 healthy infants and leptin values in their mothers’ breast milk, using radioimmunoassay (RIA). Infant and maternal anthropometrics were measured. Results: Median leptin concentration was 3.9 ng/mL (interquartile range (IQR): 2.75) in infant serum, 4.27 ng/mL (IQR: 5.62) in maternal serum and 0.89 ng/mL (IQR: 1.32) in breast milk. Median maternal BMI and weight were 24 kg/m2 (IQR: 4.41) and 64 kg (IQR: 15). Median infant BMI was 15.80 kg/cm2 (IQR: 4.02), while average weight was 5.130 kg (IQR: 1.627). Infants serum leptin values positively correlated with infants’ BMI (p = 0.001; r = 0.213) and breast milk leptin (p = 0.03; r = 0.285). Maternal serum leptin values positively correlated with maternal BMI (p = 0.000, r = 0.449) and breast milk leptin ones (p = 0.026; r = 0.322). Conclusion: Breast milk leptin and maternal BMI could influence infant serum leptin values. Further studies are needed to better elucidate the role of genetics and environment on infant leptin production and risk of obesity later in life.
Highlights
Leptin is a polypeptide hormone, made of 167 amino acids and discovered by Zhang et al in 1994 thanks to studies on ob/ob gene in mice [1]
This study presents data of a positive correlation between breast milk leptin and infant serum leptin values
Our study is strengthened by the fact that we found that breast milk leptin leptin directly correlates with maternal serum leptin values
Summary
Leptin is a polypeptide hormone, made of 167 amino acids and discovered by Zhang et al in 1994 thanks to studies on ob/ob gene in mice [1]. This hormone is the product of the ob gene, located on chromosome 7q31.3. It circulates in plasma free or bound to proteins and it exerts its action through the soluble-OB (s-OB) receptor [2]. The early adiposity rebound recorded in most obese subjects suggests that factors promoting body fat development operate in the first years of life [4]. It has been shown that higher serum leptin values correlate with lower body mass index (BMI) in childhood and with lower predisposition to develop metabolic disorders in adolescence and adulthood [5]
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