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High leptin levels in blood are associated with chronic widespread pain in rheumatoid arthritis

Aronsson, M. LU orcid ; Bergman, S. LU ; Lindqvist, E. LU orcid and Andersson, M. L.E. LU orcid (2024) In Arthritis Research and Therapy 26(1).
Abstract

Background: High body mass index (BMI) has been shown to have an association with chronic widespread pain (CWP), both in Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and in other pain conditions such as fibromyalgia. Research on the adipose tissue and it’s adipokines, for example the well described leptin, is emerging. The objective of this study was to determine if there is an association between leptin levels in blood and CWP in patients with RA. Methods: In this cross-sectional study 334 patients with RA filled in a questionnaire including a pain mannequin and questions on weight, length and waist circumference. Data from the pain mannequin was used to calculate CWP. The subjects also submitted blood samples to a biobank that were used for this study... (More)

Background: High body mass index (BMI) has been shown to have an association with chronic widespread pain (CWP), both in Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and in other pain conditions such as fibromyalgia. Research on the adipose tissue and it’s adipokines, for example the well described leptin, is emerging. The objective of this study was to determine if there is an association between leptin levels in blood and CWP in patients with RA. Methods: In this cross-sectional study 334 patients with RA filled in a questionnaire including a pain mannequin and questions on weight, length and waist circumference. Data from the pain mannequin was used to calculate CWP. The subjects also submitted blood samples to a biobank that were used for this study to determine leptin levels using an ELISA-method. Results: Patients fulfilling the 2019 criteria for CWP in this study had significantly higher leptin levels, waist circumferences and BMI. There was a significant association between leptin levels and CWP, odds ratio (OR) 1.014 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.007–1.020), p < 0.001. The association remained after adjusting for BMI, gender and age OR 1.008 (95% CI 1.000-1.017), p 0.046. When leptin was divided into quartile groups a trend could be observed where higher leptin values gave higher OR for CWP. Conclusions: This study showed an increased occurrence of CWP in RA-patients with high leptin levels. The association between leptin and CWP remained after adjusting for gender, age and BMI or waist circumference. This suggests that not just production of leptin in the adipose tissue, but also other factors such as leptin resistance may play a role. The association between leptin and CWP was strongest in the patients with the highest leptin levels. Trial registration: This study is a cross-sectional study without intervention and the cohort used was initiated prior to the implementation of mandatory registration requirements, therefore it is not registered.

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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Adipokines, Biomarkers, CWP, RA, Sensitization
in
Arthritis Research and Therapy
volume
26
issue
1
article number
228
publisher
BioMed Central (BMC)
external identifiers
  • pmid:39716315
  • scopus:85212793485
ISSN
1478-6354
DOI
10.1186/s13075-024-03463-x
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
a508f80a-1ec9-4a40-a3f1-47fba044181c
date added to LUP
2025-01-17 14:47:24
date last changed
2025-07-05 05:09:58
@article{a508f80a-1ec9-4a40-a3f1-47fba044181c,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background: High body mass index (BMI) has been shown to have an association with chronic widespread pain (CWP), both in Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and in other pain conditions such as fibromyalgia. Research on the adipose tissue and it’s adipokines, for example the well described leptin, is emerging. The objective of this study was to determine if there is an association between leptin levels in blood and CWP in patients with RA. Methods: In this cross-sectional study 334 patients with RA filled in a questionnaire including a pain mannequin and questions on weight, length and waist circumference. Data from the pain mannequin was used to calculate CWP. The subjects also submitted blood samples to a biobank that were used for this study to determine leptin levels using an ELISA-method. Results: Patients fulfilling the 2019 criteria for CWP in this study had significantly higher leptin levels, waist circumferences and BMI. There was a significant association between leptin levels and CWP, odds ratio (OR) 1.014 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.007–1.020), p &lt; 0.001. The association remained after adjusting for BMI, gender and age OR 1.008 (95% CI 1.000-1.017), p 0.046. When leptin was divided into quartile groups a trend could be observed where higher leptin values gave higher OR for CWP. Conclusions: This study showed an increased occurrence of CWP in RA-patients with high leptin levels. The association between leptin and CWP remained after adjusting for gender, age and BMI or waist circumference. This suggests that not just production of leptin in the adipose tissue, but also other factors such as leptin resistance may play a role. The association between leptin and CWP was strongest in the patients with the highest leptin levels. Trial registration: This study is a cross-sectional study without intervention and the cohort used was initiated prior to the implementation of mandatory registration requirements, therefore it is not registered.</p>}},
  author       = {{Aronsson, M. and Bergman, S. and Lindqvist, E. and Andersson, M. L.E.}},
  issn         = {{1478-6354}},
  keywords     = {{Adipokines; Biomarkers; CWP; RA; Sensitization}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}},
  series       = {{Arthritis Research and Therapy}},
  title        = {{High leptin levels in blood are associated with chronic widespread pain in rheumatoid arthritis}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13075-024-03463-x}},
  doi          = {{10.1186/s13075-024-03463-x}},
  volume       = {{26}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}