The diagnostic value of leptin for the detection of liver steatosis in postmenopausal obese women

Introduction. More than half of post-reproductive age women are overweight and obese, which puts them at high risk of developing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). In the abdominal type of obesity, adipose tissue dysfunction and impaired leptin secretion develop. Aim. To evaluate the possibilities and diagnostic characteristics of leptin for the determination of liver steatosis in pre-obese and obese women in the early postmenopausal period. Materials and methods. 76 women in the early postmenopausal period were examined, including 63 patients with NAFLD and overweight and obesity with an average age of 50.50 ± 2.16 years and 13 practically healthy women with an average age of 49.29 ± 2.64 years, who underwent an ultrasound examination of the liver, calculation of the HSI index (Hepatic Steatosis Index) and determination of the level of leptin in the blood. Results. Abdominal type of obesity was detected in 84% of patients, the gynoid type was 16%, and the body mass index averaged 33.5 ± 1.3 kg/m 2 . According to the ultrasound examination and the HSI index, all patients had liver steatosis. Their leptin levels significantly exceeded the control data (p < 0.001) and directly correlated with the severity of steatosis according to the HSI index (r = 0.321; p = 0.010). The threshold value of the serum leptin level in patients with NAFLD was 13 ng/ml with sensitivity and specificity of 90.5% and 92.3%, respectively. Conclusion. Leptin is a highly informative marker of NAFLD in women with pre-obesity and obesity in the early postmenopausal period, the value of which is higher or equal to 13 ng/ml allows to verify steatosis, less than this value – to exclude it in this category of persons with high diagnostic effectiveness.