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Cord blood leptin levels in Pakistani newborns: relationship with birth weight, length and occipitofrontal circumference.

Lakho GR, Haq Z, Chundrigar T, Nazir K, Qureshi MA

Department of Physiology, Liaquat College of Medicine and Dentistry, Karachi, Pakistan, and Khams Civil Hospital, King Khalid University Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. ghulam.lakho@aku.edu [corrected]

OBJECTIVE: To determine the serum leptin levels in cord blood of Pakistani newborns and to ascertain the relationship between serum leptin and anthropometric parameters i.e. birth weight, length and OFC. STUDY DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. PLACE AND DURATION: Lady Dufferin Hospital and Ziauddin Hospital, Karachi from 1999 to 2000. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Leptin concentration was measured in 110 newborns of mothers of normal antenatal history from venous cord blood, using Active Elisa Kit (DSL-10-23100). Samples were selected according to availability. RESULTS: Mean birth weight, length and occipitofrontal circumference (OFC) were 3.0+/-0.4 kg, 48.7+/-2.3 cms and 33.1+/-0.8 cms, respectively. Mean serum leptin levels was 10.0+/-7.5 ng/ml. Serum leptin levels were found to be positively correlated with birth weight (r=0.16, p=0.04), and OFC (r=0.33, p<0.01), whereas no significant relationship was found with length of the babies. CONCLUSION: The reported results suggest that leptin may play role in newborns body weight and energy expenditure as in adults and children.

Published 21 June 2006 in J Coll Physicians Surg Pak, 16(6): 393-5.
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