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The University of Melbourne, Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Barwon Health (J.A.P., M.J.H., M.A.K., G.C.N.), and Department of General Practice and Public Health (A.M.U.), Metabolic Research Unit, School of Health Sciences (G.R.C.), Victoria 3220, Australia; and School of Biomedical Sciences (M. J. B.), University of Tasmania, Tasmania 7250, Australia
Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dr. J. A. Pasco, The University of Melbourne, Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Barwon Health, P.O. Box 281, Geelong 3220, Australia. E-mail: juliep{at}barwonhealth.org.au
| Abstract |
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| Introduction |
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Both serum leptin (14, 15, 16, 17, 18) and bone mass (19, 20) are positively correlated with body fat. Mechanical loading on the skeleton (21) and/or the actions of a mediator between adipose tissue and bone may contribute to the association between body fat and bone mass (19). We hypothesized that leptin may be such a mediator and, therefore, we have evaluated the relationship between serum leptin concentrations and bone mass in women.
| Materials and Methods |
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Subjects were from a large age-stratified sample of women drawn at random from electoral rolls spanning the Barwon Statistical Division in southeastern Australia for participation in the Geelong Osteoporosis Study (22, 23). Serum leptin levels were determined for a subgroup encompassing a wide range of body mass index (BMI) for involvement in other studies (24, 25). As the exponential relationship between body fat mass and circulating leptin levels in nonobese subjects diminishes among the obese (14, 16, 25), we excluded obese women [BMI > 30.0 (26)]. Three hundred sixty-five women were eligible to participate in our study. Subjects were also excluded if they were currently exposed to glucocorticoids (n = 4) or the oral contraceptive pill (n = 73); were breast-feeding (n = 18); had a fasting plasma glucose > 7.0 mmol/liter (n = 4), incomplete sets of scans (n = 23); or had prostheses (n = 7), pacemakers (n = 1), silicon implants (n = 2), or nonremovable jewelry (n = 29) that would affect scan interpretation. None of the subjects was pregnant or using hormone replacement therapy. Of the 214 nonobese subjects included in the study (aged 2091 yr), 133 were premenopausal, 67 were postmenopausal, and 14 had indeterminate menopausal status. All were free from drugs and diseases known to affect bone metabolism. The study was approved by the Barwon Health Research and Ethics Advisory Committee, and informed consent was obtained from all participants.
Measurements
Body weight and height were measured to the nearest 0.1 kg and 0.1 cm, respectively, and BMI calculated as weight/height2 (kg/m2). Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry was performed using a Lunar Corp. (Madison, WI). DPX-L densitometer and analyzed with Lunar Corp. DPX-L software version 1.31. Bone mineral content (BMC) (g), areal bone mineral density (BMD) (g/cm2), and projected bone area (cm2) were measured at the spine in the posterior-anterior (PA, L24) and lateral projections (L3), proximal femur (femoral neck, Wards triangle, trochanter), whole body, ultradistal (UD), and midforearm sites. In vivo short-term precision for BMC, BMD, and projected area, respectively, was 1.4%, 0.6%, 1.5% for PA-spine; 2.9%, 3.4%, 4.0% for lateral spine; 2.9%, 1.6%, 2.3% for the femoral neck; 3.0%, 2.1%, 2.8% for Wards triangle; 4.3%, 1.6%, 3.9% for the trochanter; 0.6%, 0.4%, 0.9% for the whole body; 1.6%, 2.1%, 1.7% for UD-forearm; and 0.8%, 1.1%, 0.9% for the midforearm. Body fat mass (g) was determined from whole-body scans, with a precision of 3.8%. Venous blood samples were collected following an overnight fast, separated by centrifugation and stored at -80 C until analysis. Serum leptin concentrations were determined by a commercial RIA (Linco Research, Inc., St. Louis, MO). The interassay coefficient of variation ranged from 4.18.2%, and the intraassay coefficient of variation was 5%.
Statistics
Serum leptin concentrations were transformed to the natural logarithm (ln) to normalize the data before analysis. Regression techniques (27) were used to develop equations for predicting BMC and BMD at each site. Higher than linear adjustments for age, centered about the mean to reduce collinearity (27), were included for the forearm sites. Linear adjustments were made for age at the other sites and for body weight and body fat mass at all sites. BMC was also adjusted for projected bone area to correct for differences in areas scanned. All between-predictor correlations were <0.9, as required for valid regression analysis (27). Menopause status was not included in the models for the entire sample because its contribution was negligible. Partial r2 values of the predictors (27) were calculated for each predictor using site-specific models. Significance was set at P < 0.05 and all statistical analyses were performed using Minitab (release 12) software package.
| Results |
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| Discussion |
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The high correlations between circulating leptin concentrations and indices of adiposity have been reported previously (14, 15, 16, 17, 18). In a study of 54 postmenopausal women (BMI 15.842.9 kg/m2), the positive association between plasma leptin levels and BMC was no longer significant after adjusting for body fat mass (17). The inclusion of obese subjects may have diminished the association. There is a different relationship between body fat mass and circulating leptin levels among the obese, who display a wide range of serum leptin concentrations that overlap those observed in lean subjects (14, 15). The findings in the present study are reported for nonobese women alone for whom there is an exponential relationship between body fat mass and serum leptin. In accordance with results from our study, another study of 94 adult women (18) reported no relationship between leptin and BMD or bone geometry at the distal radius. The reasons for the lack of association at non-weight-bearing sites remain unclear.
In cross-sectional studies (17, 18), no correlation was observed between circulating leptin and markers of bone turnover. Because the subjects were likely to be in a steady state with bone formation coupled to resorption (29), it would seem unlikely that any association would be observed. Changes in leptin concentrations and bone turnover at the individual bone remodeling units might not produce measurable systemic changes. However, the hypothesis that there is a relationship between serum leptin and bone turnover could be tested by producing pharmacological alterations in serum leptin and measuring turnover response.
Unlike a recent study (30), earlier studies in mice (31) and pubertal girls (1) suggested that the effect of leptin on the skeleton occurs in cortical bone, whereas leptin-treated ob/ob mice were shown to gain both trabecular and cortical bone (32). Our data indicate the associations between bone mass and serum leptin were not as strong when BMD rather than BMC was used as the dependent variable. BMD is influenced by bone size (33). The association between leptin and BMD (i.e. the ratio of BMC/bone area) is conceptually different from the association with BMC after adjusting for bone area, which partially compensates for the confounding influence of bone size. Furthermore, if leptin promotes periosteal bone apposition, the amount of mineral at the bone-soft tissue interface might increase, resulting in an increase in apparent bone area. Thus, BMD may remain relatively unchanged because any increase in BMC would be offset by increases in bone size. Further studies on the association among leptin concentration, cortical thickness, and medullary width may indicate whether an anabolic effect occurs at the endosteal or periosteal surface of bone.
Weight loss or gain in adult women is associated with corresponding changes in circulating leptin levels (14, 34) and bone mass (35). Furthermore, reduced body fat (36), reduced leptin levels (25), and reduced bone mass (37) have been observed among smokers. These patterns may suggest that changes in body fat may, in part, be translated into changes in bone mass through fluctuations in circulating leptin levels and/or other mediators of adipose tissue origin.
Raised peripheral leptin levels may favor bone formation while suppressing adipogenesis. At a local level, bone marrow adipocytes produce leptin, which may enhance osteogenic activity and inhibit adipogenic activity (12). Failure to identify leptin receptors or leptin effects on osteoblasts in primary osteoblast cultures from calvaria (30) may reflect changes associated with osteoblast differentiation. Recent data suggest that leptin may also inhibit fetal bone resorption (13).
This cross-sectional study of the relationship between bone mass and circulating leptin levels does not address the question as to whether leptin is involved in skeletal growth and the development of peak bone mass. However, the results suggest that serum leptin may play a role in regulating skeletal mass in nonobese adult women, and these findings need to be explored in men. Further studies on the association between circulating leptin levels and bone geometry may provide insight into the mechanism of leptins effect on bone.
| Acknowledgments |
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| Footnotes |
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Received August 9, 2000.
Revised December 7, 2000.
Accepted December 8, 2000.
| References |
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