Background: We investigated the relationships between body mass index (BMI), serum leptin and serum HDL-cholesterol.
Material and methods: A retrospective study was carried out in 80 patients who did not have type 2 diabetes mellitus and/or high blood pressure.
Results: Both serum leptin and HDL-cholesterol serum levels correlated with BMI (r = 0.616 and r = -0.269, respectively), but when the BMI values were kept constant no correlation was found between serum leptin and HDL-cholesterol both in simple and in multiple regression.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that serum leptin concentration is completely independent of lipid metabolism.