The Association between Depression and Leptin is Mediated by Adiposity

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Alanna A. Morris, Emory University; Yusuf Ahmed, Emory University; Neli Stoyanova, Morehouse School of Medicine; W. Craig Hooper, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Christine De Staerke, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Gary Gibbons, Morehouse School of Medicine; Rebecca Din-Dzietham, Morehouse School of Medicine; Arshed Ali Quyyumi, Emory University; Viola Vaccarino, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2012-06
• Publisher: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: ©2012 by the American Psychosomatic Society
• Final Published Version (URL): http://www.psychosomaticmedicine.org/content/74/5/483.long
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Psychosomatic Medicine
• ISSN: 0033-3174
• Volume: 74
• Issue: 5
• Start Page: 483
• End Page: 488
• Grant/Funding Information: This work was supported by funding from NIH/NHLBI 1 U01 HL079156-01 (Quyyumi) and 1 U01 HL79214-01 (Gibbons); NIH, National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) Grant M01-RR00039 for the Emory General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) and NIH/NCRR 5P20RR11104 for the Morehouse CRC; NIH K24HL077506-06 (Vaccarino); and NIH/NCRR 5U54RR022814 (Din).
• Keywords: adiposity; leptin; depression; adiponectin
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery

Abstract

Objective Depression and obesity share overlapping psychosocial and pathophysiological etiologies. Animal models suggest that impaired leptin production, or leptin resistance, may contribute to depression. The link between leptin and depression could be mediated by obesity, which is more common in depression and increases leptin production. Methods We administered the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) to 537 participants (mean age 51, standard deviation 9 years, 49% African American, 61% female) enrolled in the Morehouse-Emory Partnership to Eliminate Cardiovascular Health Disparities (META-Health) study. BDI-II scores of 0–13 indicated minimal to no depression, 14–19 mild depression, and 20–63 moderate to severe depression. Levels of leptin were examined as continuous, log-transformed values. Results Participants with moderate to severe depression had higher levels of leptin (median 37.7, interquartile range [17.6–64.9] ng/mL) than those with mild depression (22.9 [7.0–57.9] ng/mL) or minimal to no depression (19.8 ng/mL, [7.8–39.1], p=0.003). Participants with moderate to severe depression had higher body mass index (BMI) than those with mild or minimal depression (33±8 vs. 31±9 vs. 29±7 kg/m2, p<0.001). After multivariate adjustment for age, gender, race, smoking, history of hypertension and diabetes, blood pressure, lipids, and CRP, the BDI-II score remained a significant predictor of leptin levels (β=0.093, p=0.01). Further adjustment for BMI eliminated the association between the BDI-II score and leptin (β=0.03, p=0.3). Adjusting for waist circumference in place of BMI revealed similar findings. Conclusion The association between depression and leptin appears to be mediated by increased adiposity in depressed individuals. Leptin may represent a pathway through which obese individuals may develop depression, or a common mechanism leading to both depression and obesity.