The Response of Circulating Leptin Levels to Exercise Stress Testing in Subjects Diagnosed with Metabolic Syndrome

Aim. To assess the plasma leptin responses after exercise stress testing in patients with metabolic syndrome (MS). Material and Methods. We investigated 67 patients with MS, with mean age of 55 ± 7 years. They underwent exercise stress testing on cycloergometer. The lot was divided into three groups: group 1—10 patients with a true positive test, group 2—18 patients with a true negative test, and group 3—39 patients with a false negative test. Leptin levels were measured using the ELISA method. Results. Leptin levels decreased after effort in patients with MS (9.42 ± 11.08 ng/mL before and 8.18 ± 11.5 ng/mL after the exercise stress test, P = 0.0005, r = 0.874). In groups 1 (8.98 ± 9.09 at rest versus 5.98 ± 8.73 ng/mL after the exercise test, P = 0.002) and 3 (8.6 ± 10.53 at rest versus 6.91 ± 9.07 ng/mL, P = 0.0005), lower leptin levels were recorded immediately after exercise testing. Leptin levels were not significantly lower in group 2 before effort (9.49 ± 11.36 ng/ml) and after (9.46 ± 13.81 ng/mL). We found no correlation between leptinemia and exercise stress testing parameters, regardless of group. Conclusion. Our research showed that short-term exercise lowers leptin levels in coronary patients, without a relationship between its parameters and leptin values.