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Leptin is a key hormone in the regulation of hunger and satiety. For the first time, a large international study has established comprehensive reference values for leptin across all age groups and weight classes. More than 12,500 people from 16 European studies took part. The findings and the resulting new online tool represent an important step forward in personalised medicine, particularly in assessing metabolic health and obesity. The study was led by Leipzig University and Ulm University Medical Center and has been published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
Leptin, a hormone that signals satiety, is produced in fat tissue and signals the brain about the body’s energy status. High leptin levels indicate that sufficient energy reserves are available – which in metabolically healthy individuals usually leads to a reduced feeling of hunger. Until now, however, there have been no standardised values for reliably classifying blood leptin concentrations according to age and body weight. In clinical practice, reference values have mostly been based only on people of normal weight.
“This diagnostic gap has now been closed through our research collaboration. We were able to combine data from more than 12,500 children, adolescents and adults aged 0 to 75 years with normal weight, overweight and obesity,” says Dr Mandy Vogel of Leipzig University. Together with Dr Stephanie Brand-Heunemann of Ulm University, she is first author of the study. The results show how leptin concentrations change over the course of life. In children, levels initially rise before declining again later on. Since leptin reflects fat mass, it is important to define specific reference ranges for people with obesity as well. These values allow experts to better distinguish between normal changes due to body fat and pathological disorders in those affected.
New online tool for clinical practice
To make this new knowledge applicable and transferable to medical care, the research team has developed a free online calculator and specialised software. The tool enables the calculation of individual leptin scores based on age, sex, pubertal status and body weight. This service is available at https://leptin.science and is designed to support both research and everyday clinical practice.
The new reference values will help doctors classify unusual leptin levels more accurately in future. “This allows for earlier diagnosis and more targeted treatment of metabolic disorders. The results are therefore not only a scientific milestone but also a tangible advance for personalised medicine,” says Dr Mandy Vogel.
Further information:
The Faculty of Medicine at Leipzig University and the University of Leipzig Medical Center played a decisive role in this international research success. Matthias Blüher, Professor of Clinical Obesity Research at Leipzig University, contributed valuable data through extensive sample collections from adults. The LIFE Child study at the Faculty of Medicine made an important contribution with its samples from healthy children and children with obesity, its statistical expertise and the development of the innovative online calculator tool.
The German Centre for Child and Adolescent Health (DZKJ) played a key role in linking the study internationally with partners in the Netherlands and Denmark. As a catalyst, it promoted collaboration between medical centres in Leipzig, Ulm and Dresden, thereby enabling the pooling of large data sets and expertise.
Translation: Matthew Rockey
Dr Mandy Vogel
Leipzig University
Phone: +49 341 97-16792
E-Mail: mandy.vogel@medizin.uni-leipzig.de
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism: Reference Values for Serum Leptin Levels in Children, Adolescents, and Adults With Normal Weight, Overweight, and Obesity. https://doi.org/10.1210/clinem/dgaf439
Leptin signals the body's energy status to the brain.
Source: Chat-GPT / Carolin Sobek
Copyright: Chat-GPT / Carolin Sobek
Dr. Mandy Vogel
Source: Uwe Pilz
Copyright: Universität Leipzig
Criteria of this press release:
Journalists
Medicine, Nutrition / healthcare / nursing
transregional, national
Research results, Transfer of Science or Research
English
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