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Nocturnal serum leptin values in chronic primary insomnia: A preliminary report

Nächtliche Leptin-Ausschüttung bei Primärer Insomnie: eine Pilotstudie

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Summary

Question of the study

Sleep loss and weight gain are assumed to be positively correlated, probably mediated by a decreased leptin secretion and/or an increased production of ghrelin. The present study measured evening and nocturnal serum leptin secretion in patients with chronic primary insomnia and healthy controls.

Methods

Eleven healthy controls (9 females, 2 males) and 11 patients suffering from primary insomnia (matched for age and gender) were studied in the sleep laboratory for 3 consecutive nights. Blood samples were taken in 2-h intervals from 1900 h to 0900 h prior to and during the third night and analyzed for serum leptin levels.

Results

Body mass index (BMI) was significantly higher in insomniac patients compared to healthy subjects. Polysomnography revealed expected differences between control subjects and insomniac patients. Leptin levels did not differ between patients and controls, also when controlling for the potential confounding influence of BMI by analysis of covariance. Leptin levels correlated positively with BMI values in both groups and negatively with the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) scores only in the healthy sample.

Conclusion

Primary insomnia was not accompanied by an alteration in evening/nocturnal serum leptin levels. Further studies are warranted encompassing 24-h measurements of leptin in larger samples of patients with primary insomnia with varying degrees of BMI (carefully matched to healthy controls) and during different stages of the insomnia.

Zusammenfassung

Fragestellung

Es wird davon ausgegangen, dass Schlafverlust und Gewichtszunahme positiv korreliert sind, wobei dafür möglicherweise eine erniedrigte Leptin-Sekretion und/oder eine erhöhte Ghrelin-Produktion verantwortlich sind. Die vorliegende Studie untersuchte die abendliche und nächtliche Serum-Leptin-Sekretion bei Patienten mit chronischer primärer Insomnie und gesunden Kontrollpersonen.

Methoden

11 gesunde Kontrollpersonen (9 Frauen, 2 Männer) und 11 Patienten mit primärer Insomnie (alters-und geschlechtsvergleichbar) wurden im Schlaflabor für 3 konsekutive Nächte untersucht. Blutproben wurden in 2-stündlichen Abständen von 19.00 Uhr bis 9.00 Uhr morgens vor und während der dritten Nacht entnommen und hinsichtlich Serum-Leptin ausgewertet.

Ergebnisse

Der Body-Mass-Index (BMI) war signifikant bei Patienten mit primärer Insomnie im Vergleich zu gesunden Kontrollpersonen erhöht. Die Polysomnographie zeigte die erwarteten Unterschiede zwischen Kontrollpersonen und insomnischen Patienten. Die Leptin-Werte unterschieden sich nicht zwischen Patienten und Kontrollpersonen, auch wenn der potentielle konfundierende Einfluss des BMI durch Kovarianz-Analyse kontrolliert wurde. Die Leptin-Werte korrelierten positiv mit den BMI-Werten und negativ mit dem Pittsburgh Schlafqualitätsindex (PSQI) in beiden Gruppen.

Schlussfolgerung

Bei Patienten mit primärer Insomnie konnte keine Änderung der abendlichen/nächtlichen Serum-Leptin-Ausscheidung gezeigt werden. Weitere Studien werden benötigt, die mit Hilfe von 24-h-Messungen von Leptin in größeren Stichproben bei Patienten mit primärer Insomnie und unterschiedlichen Ausprägungen des BMI (gematcht mit gesunden Kontrollen und während verschiedenen Phasen einer Insomnie) durchgeführt werden.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Freiburg, Hauptstrasse 5, 79104, Freiburg, Germany

    Dieter Riemann Ph.D. (Professor of Clinical Psychophysiology), Ivonne Burgos, Linda Richter, Torsten Klein, Bernd Fiebich, Bernd Feige, Tobias Freyer, Klaus Lieb & Ulrich Voderholzer

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  1. Dieter Riemann Ph.D.
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  2. Ivonne Burgos
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  3. Linda Richter
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  4. Torsten Klein
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  5. Bernd Fiebich
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  8. Klaus Lieb
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  9. Ulrich Voderholzer
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Correspondence to Dieter Riemann Ph.D..

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Riemann, D., Burgos, I., Richter, L. et al. Nocturnal serum leptin values in chronic primary insomnia: A preliminary report. Somnologie 10, 192–199 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-054X.2006.00102.x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-054X.2006.00102.x

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