The Role of Leptin Levels in Adaptation to Cold Climates

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health 2020-03, Vol.17 (6), p.1854
• Main Authors: Nikanorova, Alena A, Barashkov, Nikolay A, Nakhodkin, Sergey S, Pshennikova, Vera G, Solovyev, Aisen V, Romanov, Georgii P, Kuzmina, Sargylana S, Sazonov, Nikolay N, Burtseva, Tatyana E, Odland, Jon Øyvind, Fedorova, Sardana A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adipose tissue; Age; Body mass index; Body temperature; Climate; Cold; Cold weather; Females; Heat; Leptin; Males; Meta-analysis; Physiology; Proteins; Studies; Subgroups; Temperature requirements; Thermogenesis; Thermoregulation
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17061854

Currently, adipose tissue is considered an endocrine organ that produces hormone-active substances, including leptin, which can play a key role in thermoregulation processes. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to investigate the influence of the climatic environment on leptin levels. A systematic literature search in the databases was carried out on 10 January 2020. Finally, 22 eligible articles were included in the current meta-analysis and a total of 13,320 participants were covered in the final analysis. It was shown that males of the "North" subgroup demonstrated significantly higher levels of leptin (10.02 ng/mL; CI: 7.92-12.13) than males of the "South" subgroup (4.9 ng/mL; CI: 3.71-6.25) ( = 0.0001). On the contrary, in the female group, a similar pattern was not detected ( = 0.91). Apparently, in order to maintain body temperature, higher leptin levels are required. The results of the study indicate that such effects are most pronounced in males and to a smaller extent in females, apparently due to a relatively high initial concentration of leptin in females. The correlation between leptin levels and climatic environment data support the hypothesis of leptin-mediated thermoregulation as an adaptive mechanism to cold climates.