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Javier Labad, Rebecca M. Reynolds, Leptin, Somatic Depressive Symptoms and the Metabolic Syndrome: a Comment on Chirinos et al., Annals of Behavioral Medicine, Volume 46, Issue 1, August 2013, Pages 5–6, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-013-9493-7
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People with depression are at increased risk of metabolic syndrome and vice versa [1]. Leptin, a hormone secreted by adipose tissue is a plausible link as levels are increased in people with obesity and depression [2, 3]. The article by Chirinos et al. [4] replicates previous findings and adds new evidence to the field: the association of circulating leptin levels with somatic depressive symptoms.
In the study by Chirinos et al. [4], somatic but not cognitive depressive symptoms were associated with increased plasma leptin levels in 135 subjects with metabolic syndrome. These results, together with another recent study linking somatic depressive symptoms with C-reactive protein, interleukin-6 and tumour necrosis factor-α levels [5] suggest that adipokines and inflammatory markers may have a pathogenic role in the expression of somatic depressive symptoms. Interestingly, the association between leptin and somatic depressive symptoms was only found in men [4], which is in accordance with other studies reporting sex differences in the relationship between leptin and depressive symptoms [3], especially in socially isolated men [6]. We have also found a positive association between leptin and poorer neuropsychological performance in men with type 2 diabetes [7]. As animal models suggest that brains of male and female rats are differentially sensitive to the effects of leptin, with reduced effects in male rats [8], it is plausible that the association between leptin and neuropsychiatric symptoms in men may be explained by sex differences in leptin sensitivity at key brain areas (e.g., hypothalamus, hippocampus).
