The correlation between serum high sensitivity C-reactive protein and leptin in reproductive age overweight/obese women in Erbil city

Abstract

Background and objectives: Leptin could be a key regulator of C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, which serve as a marker of systemic inflammation. Both leptin and CRP are predictors of cardiovascular disease (CVD). This study, attempted to characterize the association between inflammatory marker hs-CRP and serum leptin in overweight/obese women in reproductive age in comparison with normal body mass index women (BMI) as a control group. Methods: Eighty reproductive age women were divided into two groups: first group of 50 overweight / obese women; with mean age 27.7 years and BMI mean (31.4 Kg/m2). The second group of 30 age-matched women with mean age 28.8 years and BMI mean (22.5 Kg/m2) which served as control group. Any subject with other diseases or on medication that might affect the study was excluded. Fasting blood samples for both groups were collected and serum hs-CRP, leptin, lipid profile and glucose were measured Results: In the overweight / obese group hs-CRP concentrations were significantly associated with BMI and leptin (r =0.3, r =0.284, with p <0.05) respectively. This association remained significant, even after adjusting BMI, for each one unit increase in serum leptin the serum hs-CRP escalated by a mean of 0.05 (mg/L). Serum Leptin notably has a more significant role than BMI in explaining changes of serum hs-CRP since its standardized coefficient was higher (ß =0.384 with p=0.001) versus (ß =0.266 with p=0.016) for BMI in overweight and obese women. Conclusion: Leptin is a stronger predictor of hs-CRP than BMI in overweight and obese women in reproductive age.