Leptin, Abdominal Obesity, and Onset of Depression in Older Men and Women

Abstract

Objective The mechanisms that underlie the association between abdominal obesity and depression risk in older persons are not well known, but the “leptin hypothesis” of depression suggests that leptin resistance may be involved in mood regulation. We tested whether high circulatory concentration of leptin, alone and in combination with visceral adiposity, is associated with onset of depression in a sample of older persons. Method Participants were 1220 men and 1282 women aged 70–79 years, enrolled in the Health, Aging and Body Composition study. Plasma concentration of leptin and abdominal visceral fat ascertained by computed tomography were assessed at baseline (April 1997 – June 1998). Onset of depression was defined as a Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale 10-item score ≥ 10 and/or new antidepressant medication use at any annual visit over a 5-year follow-up. Results Higher leptin was associated with the risk of depression onset in men with high visceral fat (HR=1.25,95%CI=1.06–1.46, p=0.01) but not in those with normal visceral fat (HR=0.98,95%CI=0.80–1.19, p=0.80) (leptin*visceral fat p=0.04). No interaction between leptin and visceral fat was detected in the analysis focusing on women (p=0.90). Conclusion In older men, high leptin was associated with an increased onset of depressive symptoms especially in the presence of abdominal obesity, suggesting that underlying leptin resistance may play a role in this link. Differences in visceral fat levels and metabolic consequences may explain the absence of this association in women. These findings suggest a potential biological link between depression, obesity and their joint association with negative health outcomes.

Depressive symptoms and carotid intima–media thickness in South American Hispanics: results from the PREVENCION study

“…Proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein have been shown to predict future cardiovascular events (Cesari et al, 2003;Pearson et al, 2003;Ridker et al, 2000), and have also been linked to depressive symptoms in cross-sectional (Goldbacher & Matthews, 2007;Howren et al, 2009;Mossner et al, 2007) and prospective designs (Stewart et al, 2009). More recently, leptin has been shown to be a key marker of depression and a potential mechanistic link in its relationship to cardiovascular disease (Chirinos, Goldberg, et al 2013;Chirinos, Morey-Vargas, et al 2013;Labad et al, 2012;Milaneschi et al, 2012;Morris et al, 2012). Other candidate biological pathways in this relationship include sympathetic activation (Carney et al, 2000;Kawachi et al, 1995), pro-coagulant factors (Strike & Steptoe, 2004) and endothelial dysfunction (Ghiadoni et al, 2000;Narita et al, 2007;Pitsavos et al, 2006;Yasunari et al, 2006).…”

Mood disorders: A potential link between ghrelin and leptin on human body?

“…Similarly, a crosssectional study by Pasco et al [47] , demonstrated that depressive disorders can be predicted by high serum leptin levels among female nonsmokers. In addition, elevated leptin levels as well as visceral fat seem to predict depressive symptoms in old men [48] . Likewise, in a longitudinal study by Milaneschi et al [49] high levels of leptin and abdominal adiposity were a high risk factor for the development of depressed mood over a 9year follow up.…”

Depressive and anxiety disorders: Associated with losing or gaining weight over 2 years?

“…Furthermore the use of psychotropic medications, often prescribed for depressive and anxiety disorders, might be an additional explanatory risk factor for weight change (Virk et al, 2004;Demyttenaere and Jaspers, 2008;Vieweg et al, 2008;Hasnain and Vieweg, 2013). Underlying shared biological abnormalities such as inflammation, leptin or HPA-axis dysregulations could further play a linking role between mental health and weight change (Bjorntorp, 2001;Bornstein et al, 2006;Pasco et al, 2008;Vreeburg et al, 2009;Milaneschi et al, 2012).…”