Leptin is a hormone produced in adipocytes. It has been suggested that leptin directs metabolic fuels towards utilization and away from storage. Few related studies have been conducted on a homogeneous diabetic cohort. The aim of this study was to examine the gender differences in leptin level in a homogeneous Type 2 diabetic cohort and the factors contributing to such a difference.

Out of 1306 registered diabetic patients, 116 subjects who met the following criteria, (1) aged between 35 and 74 years, (2) Chinese, (3) having Type 2 diabetes for more than 1 year and (4) having been taking gliclazide and metformin for more than 6 months, were enrolled into the study. The main variable studied was the plasma leptin levels in relation to quartiles of body mass index (BMI) and insulin levels in various age groups of men and women. Factors affecting plasma leptin level in men and women were determined using multiple linear regression analysis.

This study demonstrated that Type 2 diabetic women had higher plasma leptin concentrations than their male counterparts (p<0.001). Insulin level (β=0.50, p<0.001), BMI (β=0.44, p<0.001) and triglyceride levels (β=0.16, p=0.04) were found to be the main predictors of leptin level for Type 2 diabetic men.

These initial findings reveal that men had lower leptin levels than women, and seem to indicate that insulin concentration is the main predictor of leptin level in both Type 2 diabetic men and women.