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Horm Metab Res 1998; 30(5): 272-275
DOI: 10.1055/s-2007-978882
Originals Clinical

© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

Serum Leptin and Body Weight in Females with Anorexia and Bulimia Nervosa

W. Köpp1 , W. F. Blum2 , 3 , A. Ziegler4 , K. Mathiak1 , H. Lübbert5 , S. Herpertz6 , H. C. Deter1 , J. Hebebrand7
  • 1Department of Psychosomatics, Medical Center Benjamin Franklin, Free University of Berlin, Germany
  • 2Children's Hospital of the University of Gießen, Germany
  • 3Lilly GmbH, Germany
  • 4Institute of Medical Biometry and Epidemiology of the University of Marburg, Germany
  • 5Department of Gynecology, Medical Center Benjamin Franklin, Free University of Berlin, Germany
  • 6Clinic of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics of the University of Essen, Germany
  • 7Clinical Research Group, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry of the University of Marburg, Germany
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Publication History

1997

1998

Publication Date:
20 April 2007 (online)

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In this study we hypothesized that there is a correlation between serum leptin levels and body mass indices within patients with anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa during a twelve weeks' course of in-patient treatment. We evaluated leptin levels weekly in female in-patients with anorexia (n = 17) or bulimia nervosa (n = 18). Only patients with anorexia nervosa were therapeutically encouraged to gain weight throughout the treatment episode. For the whole cohort, body mass indices and serum leptin levels were highly correlated upon admission (r = 0.89, p < 0.001). The median intra-individual correlation in the anorexia group was higher than in the bulimia group (0.63 and 0.39, respectively). The intra-individual correlations were higher in those anorexia nervosa patients who showed increments of their body mass index within the observation span. This dynamic aspect is important specifically in patients with anorexia nervosa during therapeutically induced weight gain.

Key words

Body Mass Index - Eating Disorders - Obese Gene Product

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