Serum Leptin and C - reactive protein Levels in Obese Ghanaians with and Without Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus At Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), Accra

Abstract

The prevalence of obesity is increasing in Ghana. Obesity is associated with increased risk of many chronic diseases especially type 2 diabetes mellitus. Researching into diagnostic markers is very important. Leptin and C-reactive protein have been implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetes related disorders such as obesity. The aim of this study was to compare serum leptin and C-reactive proteins concentration in obese Ghanaians with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus. Eighty (80) obese (BMI > 30 Kg/m2) Ghanaians with age ranging from 30-55 years were recruited for this study. There were grouped into diabetic subjects (cases group) and non-diabetic subjects (controls). Fasting lipid profile, serum leptin, high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and fasting blood glucose (FBG) levels were measured by standard methods. Relevant anthropometric indices (BMI, percentage body fat, percentage muscle mass, and visceral fats) and blood pressures were also measured. The case group recruited from the National Diabetic Management and Research Centre and the control group were both 40 each comprised of 15 (33.3%) males and 25 (66.7%) females. The mean age of both case and controls (49.65 ± 5.73 and 47.28 ± 7.82) were matched and there was no significant difference (p = 0.125). Serum leptin and hs-CRP levels in cases (13.84 ± 4.76 ng/ml and 0.18 ± 0.09 ng/ml) was significantly lower than that in controls (17.92 ± 5.51 ng/ml and 0.23 ± 0.11 ng/ml). Serum leptin was strongly and positively correlated with percentage body fat (r = 0.561; P = 0.000) and weakly with body mass index (r = 0.300; P = 0.007) in all the subjects. Furthermore, serum leptin showed negative and significant correlation with triglycerides (r = -0.251; P = 0.025) and very low density lipoprotein (r = -0.253; P = 0.024) in both cases and controls. In conclusion, obese non-diabetic subjects had higher levels of serum leptin and this may suggest a possible link between obesity, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes mellitus.