Negative effect of leptin on bone mass in type 1 diabetes

Studies investigating the effect of leptin on bone mass were inconsistent and some related it to the effect of insulin. We intend in this cross-sectional study to investigate the effect of leptin on bone mass in type 1 diabetic patients. We recruited 42 patients with type 1 diabetes for which we determined weight, height, HbA1c, microalbuminuria, serum leptin, bone mineral content (BMC) and density (BMD), and body composition. The patients had an average age of 20.1 ± 0.6 years, an average body mass index (BMI) of 23.6 ± 0.5 kg/cm² and an average duration of diabetes of 9.1 ± 1.0 years. The Z-score was not correlated with HbA1c or duration of the disease, and the average Z-score was not different in patients with microalbuminuria as compared to patients with no reported microalbuminuria. On the other hand, Z-score and BMC correlated negatively with leptin (r = -0.31; p = 0.04 and -0.60, p < 0.01, respectively). These correlations persisted after adjustment for fat mass. We conclude that not metabolic control of diabetes, but serum leptin has a negative effect on bone density in young patients with type 1 diabetes. This negative effect of leptin on bone density maybe, in part, due to deficiency of endogenous insulin secretion in these patients.