ABSTRACT
To measure serum leptin levels and compare them in lean and obese subjects and to identify correlation between serum leptin levels, heart rate and hypertension in lean and obese subjects among adult females. A case control study. Jinnah Medical and Dental College Hospital's Outpatient Department [OPD] during the calender year 2003. Seventy female subjects with different body mass indices were selected from OPD of Jinnah Medical and Dental College Hospital [OPD], Karachi. Heart rate was counted manually; blood pressure was measured by mercury sphygmomanometer while serum leptin was measured using enzyme-linked immunoassay. The outcomes hypertension and heart rate were correlated to risk factor leptin. Result: Mean heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure and serum leptin levels of obese people were 90 +/- 1, 142 +/- 2, 89 +/- 1 and 24.13 +/- 1.7 respectively, which were significantly higher as compared to lean subjects [p<0.05]. All the parameters correlated positively and significantly with increasing BMI. There was a relationship of tachycardia and hypertension with high serum leptin levels in obesity. Serum leptin levels increase with the level of obesity. Hyper-leptinemia is associated with tachycardia and increases in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure in obesity via complex mechanisms