Examining the Association Between Serum Leptin and Sarcopenic Obesity

OBJECTIVE: Sarcopenic obesity is an emerging geriatric syndrome among elderly individuals. Studies revealed a complicated pathogenesis between sarcopenia and obesity. Leptin, a proinflammatory adipokine, has been implicated in the mechanism of sarcopenic obesity. This study investigated the relationship between serum leptin level and sarcopenic obesity. METHODS: The study included 4063 participants aged 60 years and older from the NHANES III database. Sarcopenia was defined as a skeletal muscle index (SMI) less than one standard deviation below the young adult value. Obesity was defined as a body mass index (BMIF) over 30 kg/m(2). Multivariate regression analysis was performed to examine the association between serum leptin level and sarcopenic obesity. RESULTS: In adjusted models, serum leptin level was positively correlated with BMI (β: 1.33, p value < 0.001) and negatively correlated with SMI (β: −0.091, p value = 0.001). A significant association between serum leptin level and sarcopenic obesity was found in multivariate analysis (β: 4.011, p value=0.014). CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated that serum leptin level was related to an increased risk of sarcopenic obesity. This epidemiologic finding suggests that leptin may play a role in sarcopenic obesity.