Table 1.
Overview of measurements of leptin function in depression
| Subjects | Sex (F/M), N% | BMI | Assessment | Source and assay | Main findings | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Control | 301/196, 60.6 | 25.1 ± 4.5 | DSM-IV | Fasting blood; ELISA | Higher leptin was associated with the atypical MDD subtype both for remitted and current patients | 60 |
| Remitted MDD | 480/231, 71.0 | 25.8 ± 4.9 | ||||
| Current MDD | 754/308, 67.5 | 25.8 ± 5.3 | ||||
| Control | 16/26 | 25.61 ± 3.50 | HDRS | Fasting serum, ElISA | Higher leptin was found in patients with ADD than in controls, but not in patients with DD-NA | 59 |
| ADD | 16/26 | 26.36 ± 4.17 | ||||
| DD-NA | 20/31 | 24.41 ± 3.43 | ||||
| Minimal to no depression | 60 | 29 ± 7 | BDI-II scores 0–13 | Fasting serum, ElISA | Leptin levels increased with the increasing BDI-II score; participants with moderate to severe depression had the highest levels of leptin | 62 |
| Mild depression | 67 | 31 ± 9 | 14–19 | |||
| Moderate to severe depression | 63 | 33 ± 8 | 20–28 | |||
| Control | 44 | 24.2 ± 3.7 | DSM-IV | Fasting plasma, ELISA | Women with melancholic depression had higher leptin levels than controls; no changes were observed between undifferentiated or atypical patients and controls | 61 |
| Undifferentiated | 22 | 27.2 ± 6.2 | ||||
| Atypical | 16 | 28.9 ± 7.1 | ||||
| Melancholic | 51 | 25.8 ± 6.0 | ||||
| Control | 26/25 | 16.9 ± 2.0 | DSM-IV,BDI,BPRS | Fasting plasma, ELISA | Lower leptin and cholesterol levels in patients with MMD than controls. | 53 |
| Schizophrenia | 39/39 | 24.1 ± 2.8 | ||||
| MMD | 35/34 | 20.6 ± 2.7 | ||||
| Healthy | 9 | 23.43 ± 3.33 | DSM-IV | Fasting serum, ElISA | Women had higher leptin levels than men in both depressive and healthy subjects; female patients had significantly higher leptin levels compared to the control females both before and after the treatment | 57 |
| Healthy female | 14 | 26.13 ± 2.56 | ||||
| Male MMD patients | 12 | 23.92 ± 3.58 | ||||
| Female MMD patients | 20 | 26.74 ± 4.88 | ||||
| Control | 69/34, 67 | 26.0 ± 5.5 | DSM-IV | Fasting serum, ElISA | Patients with BD present lower leptin levels than those with MD and the control group. | 101 |
| Current depression | 69/34, 67 | 26.5 ± 4.9 |
MDD major depressive disorder, ADD depressive disorder with atypical features, DD-NA depressive disorder without atypical features, UD unipolar depression, BD bipolar depression