Association between leptin, markers of bone formation and physical growth of newborns

Abstract

Background : The increase of body size and weight depends on metabolism in the bone tissue and accumulation of fat, but the role of many hormones and enzymatic systems that may influence these processes significantly has not been recognized. Aim : An attempt to assess the correlation between the leptin hormone taking part in the regulation of fat tissue reserves, markers of bone formation and selected anthropometric traits in newborns was made. Subjects and methods : Levels of leptin, osteocalcin and C-terminal propeptide type I procollagen (PICP) in the serum of 64 Appropriate for Gestational Age newborns (AGA newborns) with gestational age between 27 and 42 weeks were assessed. In parallel, 15 anthropometric traits were measured and the Quetelet Index was calculated for all the newborns. Statistical analysis was performed using the Student's t -test, Mann-Whitney U test, Pearson's correlation and Spearman's correlation rank test. p < 0.05 was regarded as significant. Results : Statistically significant correlations between leptin, osteocalcin, PICP and selected anthropometric traits in newborns were found. There were no statistically significant correlations between serum levels of leptin and markers of bone formation in the investigated group of children. Conclusion : In our study, we documented the association of leptin, osteocalcin and PICP with overall physical growth of AGA newborns. We did not confirm the relationship between leptin and bone formation in this stage of ontogenesis.