Sex Differences in Serum Leptin and Adiponectin levels in Apparently Healthy Iranian Adults

Leptin and adiponectin are two important adipose tissue derived cytokines. Serum adiponectin levels decrease in obesity and chronic disease, whereas leptin shows a positive correlation with inflammation. Given that serum leptin and adiponectin levels vary among different ethnic groups, the aim of this study was to determine the serum levels of leptin and adiponectin in a random sample of apparently healthy adults, with regard of sex difference. A cross sectional study was designed on 150 apparently healthy men and women, age 25-50 years living in Tabriz, Iran. Anthropometric parameters were measured including weight, height, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC). Serum leptin and adiponectin levels were determined using fasting blood samples. There was no statistically significant difference in BMI and age between genders. However, weight, height and WC were significantly higher in men. Median (25-75 percentile) of serum leptin levels were 6.80 (3.86 13.56) and 13.42 (4.93 25.44) ng/ml and mean (SD) of adiponectin levels were 31.13 (7.94) and 30.13 (8.59) ng/ml in men and women respectively. Leptin levels were significantly higher in females (P=0.006), while it was not observed any statistically significant difference in serum adiponectin levels in two sexes (P=0.459). In conclusion, we found that leptin levels are remarkably higher in women whereas that of adiponectin don’t differ significantly in two sexes.