Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders Extra (Jul 2016)

Low Leptin Availability as a Risk Factor for Dementia in Chilean Older People

  • Cecilia Albala,
  • Barbara Angel,
  • Lydia Lera,
  • Hugo Sanchez,
  • Carlos Marquez,
  • Patricio Fuentes

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1159/000447447
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 6, no. 2
pp. 295 – 302

Abstract

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Objective: The aim was to study the role of leptin in the development of dementia. Methods: Follow-up of the ALEXANDROS cohorts, with baseline measurements in 2000. From 1,136 available subjects free of dementia at baseline, 667 subjects had frozen baseline blood samples for measuring leptin and soluble leptin receptor (sOB-R). The free leptin index (FLI) was calculated as the ratio of leptin to sOB-R. Dementia was defined as an MMSE score 5 in the Pfeffer Activities Questionnaire. Results: After 15 years of follow-up, 42 incident cases of dementia were identified. No difference in serum leptin was observed between people with and without dementia, but sOB-R was higher in demented than in nondemented subjects (sOB-R: 44.94 ± 23.97 vs. 33.73 ± 21.13 ng/ml). The adjusted risk for dementia increased, the higher the log sOB (hazard ratio = 3.58; 95% CI 1.72-7.45, p = 0.001). Conclusion: Lower availability of free leptin was found in demented than in nondemented people, suggesting a role of leptin in cognition.

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