Relation between first trimester maternal serum leptin levels and body mass index in normotensive and pre-eclamptic pregnancies – Role of leptin as a marker of pre-eclampsia: A prospective case–control study

Abstract

Objective. We measured first trimester plasma leptin concentrations in 37 women who subsequently developed pre-eclampsia and 53 normotensive controls to determine the interrelation between leptin and body mass index (BMI) in both groups. We further investigated the association between the risks for pre-eclampsia with maternal leptin levels.

Methods. Bloods samples were collected at 13 weeks. Non-parametric tests, Spearman's correlation, linear regression analysis and multiple logistic regression analysis were applied in our data.

Results. 1 kg/m² increase in pre-pregnancy BMI was related to a 2.747 (95% CI: 3.242–2.252) ng/ml rise in leptin concentration among cases and 2.502 (95% CI: 2.873–2.131) ng/ml rise in leptin concentrations among controls. Increased leptin concentration (≥25.3 ng/ml ) in lean women is associated with a 18.8-fold increased risk of pre-eclampsia (adjusted OR: 18.8, CI: 1.8–194, p = 0.014 ). Leptin treated as a continuous variable is a significant predictor of pre-eclampsia (adjusted OR: 1.08, CI: 1.018–1.133, p = 0.009).

Conclusion. Increased leptin concentration can definitely contribute to the prediction of pre-eclampsia in lean women, but this is not the case in overweight women. Further research in terms of longitudinal case–control studies is required to clarify the predictive value of pre-eclampsia.

Keywords:

• Leptin
• obesity
• pre-eclampsia
• pregnancy
• first trimester screening

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.