TY - JOUR
T1 - Plasma leptin concentrations and cardiac autonomic nervous system in healthy subjects with different body weights
AU - Paolisso, Giuseppe
AU - Manzella, Daniela
AU - Montano, Nicola
AU - Gambardella, Antonio
AU - Varricchio, Michele
PY - 2000
Y1 - 2000
N2 - Previous studies have shown that leptin stimulates sympathetic nervous system; heart rate variability (HRV) is a widely used technique for assessing the sympathovagal balance at the cardiac level. The aim of our study was to investigate a possible relationship between plasma leptin levels and the autonomic regulation using spectral analysis of HRV. In 120 healthy nonobese subjects the plasma leptin concentration was determined, and HRV was recorded at baseline and during tilt. All subjects were categorized in quartiles of plasma leptin concentration. Analysis of data showed a significant increase in body mass index, body fat, fasting plasma insulin, triglyceride concentration, and homeostatic model assessment values throughout the different quartiles of plasma leptin concentration. Concerning cardiovascular parameters, heart rate, arterial blood pressures, and RR intervals were not significantly different among the quartiles. Total power and high frequency (HF) in normalized units were significantly decreased, whereas low frequency (LF) normalized units was progressively increased from the first to the fourth quartile. Thus, the LF/HF ratio rose gradually and significantly from the lowest to the highest quartile. Such results were independent of the body fat estimate (P <0.03 for the trend). The change in the LF/HF ratio was significantly enhanced during tilt (P <0.001 vs. rest values for all quartiles); the effect was stronger in subjects in the fourth quartile of plasma leptin concentration (P <0.005 for the trend). The latter parameter was also independent of body fat content and distribution (P 0.01). Our study shows that increasing fasting plasma leptin concentrations are associated with a shift of the sympathovagai balance toward a progressive increase in sympathetic activation and an increased response to orthostatic stimulus in nonobese subjects with different body fat contents.
AB - Previous studies have shown that leptin stimulates sympathetic nervous system; heart rate variability (HRV) is a widely used technique for assessing the sympathovagal balance at the cardiac level. The aim of our study was to investigate a possible relationship between plasma leptin levels and the autonomic regulation using spectral analysis of HRV. In 120 healthy nonobese subjects the plasma leptin concentration was determined, and HRV was recorded at baseline and during tilt. All subjects were categorized in quartiles of plasma leptin concentration. Analysis of data showed a significant increase in body mass index, body fat, fasting plasma insulin, triglyceride concentration, and homeostatic model assessment values throughout the different quartiles of plasma leptin concentration. Concerning cardiovascular parameters, heart rate, arterial blood pressures, and RR intervals were not significantly different among the quartiles. Total power and high frequency (HF) in normalized units were significantly decreased, whereas low frequency (LF) normalized units was progressively increased from the first to the fourth quartile. Thus, the LF/HF ratio rose gradually and significantly from the lowest to the highest quartile. Such results were independent of the body fat estimate (P <0.03 for the trend). The change in the LF/HF ratio was significantly enhanced during tilt (P <0.001 vs. rest values for all quartiles); the effect was stronger in subjects in the fourth quartile of plasma leptin concentration (P <0.005 for the trend). The latter parameter was also independent of body fat content and distribution (P 0.01). Our study shows that increasing fasting plasma leptin concentrations are associated with a shift of the sympathovagai balance toward a progressive increase in sympathetic activation and an increased response to orthostatic stimulus in nonobese subjects with different body fat contents.
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U2 - 10.1210/jc.85.5.1810
DO - 10.1210/jc.85.5.1810
M3 - Article
C2 - 10843157
AN - SCOPUS:0034455966
VL - 85
SP - 1810
EP - 1814
JO - Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism
JF - Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism
SN - 0021-972X
IS - 5
ER -