Serum leptin and habitual fatty acid dietary intake in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus

Objective: To study the contribution of a normal intake of nutrients to the variability of serum leptin concentrations in persons with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Design: We studied the relation between serum leptin and nutrient intake in a cross-sectional study. Methods: Serum leptin measured by radioimmunoassay, nutritional data determ ined by a self-administered 7-day nutritional questionnaire, and the fatty acid composition of the serum phospholipids (measured by thin layer chromat ography and gas chromatography) were determined in 60 patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Correlation and regression analyses were performed betwe en serum leptin and dietary fatty acids and serum phospholipid fatty acids. Results: In the prediction models for the concentrations of serum leptin in men with type 1 diabetes mellitus, the dietary fatty acids displaced the a nthropometric variables, and were independent of the serum testosterone con centrations. This fact remained when the prediction was made on the basis o f indirect markers of the intake, such as the serum phospholipid fatty acid s. In the women, the fatty acids from the diet or from the serum phospholip ids also partly explained the Variation in serum leptin, although not displ acing the anthropometric variables. Conclusions: Our data suggest that, in non-experimental conditions, the con centrations of serum leptin in men with type 1 diabetes mellitus and, to a lesser extent, those in women with diabetes, may be influenced by the compo sition of the habitual diet, especially the type of dietary fat.