Examining the Association Between Serum Leptin and Sarcopenic Obesity

Sarcopenic obesity is an emerging geriatric syndrome among elderly individuals. Studies revealed a complicated pathogenesis between sarcopenia and obesity. Leptin, a proinflammatory adipokine, has been implicated in the mechanism of sarcopenic obesity. This study investigated the relationship between serum leptin level and sarcopenic obesity.The study included 4063 participants aged 60 years and older from the NHANES III database. Sarcopenia was defined as a skeletal muscle index (SMI) less than one standard deviation below the young adult value. Obesity was defined as a body mass index (BMIF) over 30 kg/m2. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to examine the association between serum leptin level and sarcopenic obesity.In adjusted models, serum leptin level was positively correlated with BMI (β: 1.33, p value < 0.001) and negatively correlated with SMI (β: -0.091, p value = 0.001). A significant association between serum leptin level and sarcopenic obesity was found in multivariate analysis (β: 4.011, p value=0.014).Our study demonstrated that serum leptin level was related to an increased risk of sarcopenic obesity. This epidemiologic finding suggests that leptin may play a role in sarcopenic obesity.