Maternal plasma leptin is increased in preeclampsia and positively correlates with fetal cord concentration

OBJECTIVE: We tested the hypothesis that the maternal leptin concentration would be increased in preeclampsia, independent of maternal obesity. STUDY DESIGN: Maternal and cord plasma leptin concentrations were compared in 2 groups of women with either preeclampsia (n = 24) or normal pregnancy (n = 24), matched 1:1 for prepregnancy body mass index and fetal gestational age at sampling. RESULTS: Median leptin concentrations were significantly higher (P < .03) in women with preeclampsia (45.6 ng/mL) than in normal pregnant women (27.0 ng/mL) and fell rapidly shortly after delivery (26.7 ng/mL and 25.4 ng/mL, respectively). Cord leptin was not significantly different between groups (5.4 ng/mL and 5.8 ng/mL, respectively). Maternal and cord leptin correlated significantly (p = 0.76, P < .01)only in preeclampsia. CONCLUSION: Preeclampsia is associated with an increase in maternal plasma leptin concentrations that strongly correlates with the fetal cord concentration at delivery.