An Investigation of the Relationship Between Changes in Serum Leptin Level and Maternal Weight Gain During Pregnancy

Introduction and Objective: Leptin one of the important hormone, which was secreted by adipose tissues and the key role of leptin is the regulation of body fat in animals and humans. In the case of caloric limitation and weight loss, serum leptin level will decrease rapidly. In the other hand, decreased leptin sensitivity causes weight gain and obesity and compensatory increase in serum leptin levels. Hence, the aim of the current study was to investigated the relationship between maternal weight gain and changes in leptin level during pregnancy.Methodology: In this descriptive-analytic study, pregnant women who had met the criteria for inclusion in the first trimester study at Mahdiyeh Hospital and healthcare centers of Tehran. Forty-five mothers, which was recognized eligible in the terms of pre-pregnancy BMI enrolled in this study and classified in tow group, such as normal BMI (n=22) and high BMI group (n=23). The peripheral blood obtained from pregnant womens in weeks 6-12 and 15-20 of pregnancy and serum leptin level determined by Enzyme Linked Immunosurbant Assay (ELISA, Mercodia, Uppsala). All statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Version 22.0 and p-values less than 0.05 were considered significant.Findings: In this study, the mean plasma leptin level at the first and second trimesters of pregnancy were higher in the high-BMI group than in the normal-BMI group but due to law sample size, stasistically not significant. Also, there are no significant differences in the mean of weight gain at the first, second, and third trimesters and the entire period of pregnancy between the two groups. The number of abortion (P<.001) and number of parturition (P= .012) had a significant effect on pregnancy BMI.Conclusion: Increasing the serum leptin level during pregnancy were directly related to their weight gain. This study is a preliminary step to determining and using indicators for appropriate maternal weight gain during pregnancy, which in turn guarantees the health of mothers, infants, and eventually the future generation.

Keywords:

Leptin , Pregnancy , BMI