Hyperleptinaemia positively correlated with metabolic syndrome in hemodialysis patients.

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and the fasting serum leptin concentration in hemodialysis (HD) patients.

Methods: Fasting blood samples were obtained from 101 HD patients. MetS and its components were defined using the diagnostic criteria of the International Diabetes Federation.

Results: Forty-eight patients (47.5%) had MetS. Serum leptin concentrations were positively correlated with MetS (p<0.001). Serum leptin levels correlated with increasing numbers of MetS criteria in HD patients (p=0.001). Univariate linear regression analysis showed that the pre-HD body weight (p<0.001), waist circumference (p<0.001), body mass index (p=0.001), triglycerides (p=0.003), insulin level (p=0.043), and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (p=0.003) positively correlated with serum leptin levels in HD patients and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (p=0.016) negatively correlated with serum leptin levels in HD patients. Multivariate forward stepwise linear regression analysis of the significant variables revealed that pre-HD body weight (R(2)=0.175; p<0.001) was the independent predictor of the fasting serum leptin concentration.

Conclusions: Fasting serum leptin levels positively correlated with MetS and the pre-HD body weight could influence serum leptin in HD patients.