Search

Introduction: The major risk factors for stroke are obesity, diabetes mellitus, systemic arterial hypertension (SAH) and dyslipidemia. In 1994 leptin was identifies as adipokine produced by adipose tissue. Its main action is the regulation of energy balance. Currently, hyperleptinemia is associated with cardiovascular disease., Objective: To determine the association between serum leptin and stroke in patients with SAH., Methods: We determined serum leptin in subjects with stroke and SAH, and compared this with patients with SAH without stroke. We calculated Student t, χ², and odds ratio (OR) for quantitative and qualitative variables., Results: 60 subjects were recruited, 30 subjects per group. Considering a value>3.93 ng/ml as hyperleptinemia, it also was found a t=2.8 (p=0.007), and χ² with one degree of freedom of 10.82 (p=0.001), obtaining an OR of 3.05 for the development of stroke in the presence of elevated leptin (95% CI: 0.9-9.6; p=0.05)., Conclusions: Hyperleptinemia is more common in patients with stroke than in those without this condition. But the question remains whether hyperleptinemia is a stroke risk factor or protective factor.