Serum Leptin Levels and the Risk of Stroke: The Framingham Study.

Background and Purpose—Leptin is a major adipokine that regulates weight balance and energy homeostasis. There is inconsistent evidence linking circulating leptin levels to risk of stroke. We tested the hypothesis that leptin levels are associated with risk of incident stroke in an elderly community based sample. Methods—Serum leptin levels were assayed in 757 stroke free individuals (mean age, 79 years; 62% women) from the Framingham Original Cohort at the 22nd examination cycle (1990–1994). Incidence of all -stroke and ischemic stroke were prospectively ascertained. Results—During a mean follow up of 10 years, 119 individuals developed stroke (99 ischemic strokes). In multivariable Cox regression models, log leptin levels were not associated with incidence of all -stroke or ischemic stroke (hazard ratios per SD increment in log leptin 0.90 [0.73–1.09] and 0.89 [0.72–1.11], respectively). The results were suggestive for potential effect modification by waist/hip ratio for the association between leptin a...