Plasma leptin and insulin levels in Aymara natives from Chile

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of plasma leptin levels with respect to obesity, gender, age and insulin levels in the native Aymara population. The Aymara natives live at high altitudes in isolated regions in the north of Chile, and they maintain distinctive genetic and cu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annals of human biology 2000-05, Vol.27 (3), p.271-279
Main Author: J. L. Santos, F. P rez-Bravo, C. Albala, M. Calvill n, E. Carrasco
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Altitude
Aymara
Body Mass Index
Chemicals
Chile
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Human biology
Human body
Humans
Indians, South American
Indigenous populations
Insulin - blood
Leptin - blood
Male
Middle Aged
Multivariate Analysis
Obesity - blood
Obesity - ethnology
Sex Factors
South Amerindians
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Summary:The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of plasma leptin levels with respect to obesity, gender, age and insulin levels in the native Aymara population. The Aymara natives live at high altitudes in isolated regions in the north of Chile, and they maintain distinctive genetic and cultural characteristics. Plasma leptin and insulin levels were correlated with body mass index (BMI), sex and age in a sample of 147 adult Aymara subjects who participated in a cross-sectional study. Multivariate analysis showed significant differences in leptin levels (dependent variable: natural log of leptin) by gender (p < 0.0001), and by BMI (p < 0.001), without significant statistical interaction between gender and BMI. The effect of age achieved statistical significance in the multivariate analysis (p = 0.02). Gender, BMI and insulin are independently associated with plasma leptin levels. On the other hand, the multivariate analysis of the plasma insulin concentration (dependent variable: natural log of insulin levels) shows that insulin is strongly associated with BMI (p < 0.0001), although non-statistically significant differences of insulin levels by sex (p = 0.07) or age (p = 0.9) were detected at alpha 0.05 level. Thus, in the special ecosystem where the Aymara population live, a strong and independent association between sex, obesity and insulin levels with plasma leptin levels has been detected.
ISSN:0301-4460
1464-5033
DOI:10.1080/030144600282163