Plasma leptin and insulin resistance correlation with obesity in pre pubertal children

Background: Insulin resistance correlates with obesity through a neural mechanism that is represented by an increase in leptin levels. Objective: The aim of the study was to analyze the correlation between plasma leptin levels and insulin resistance with obesity in pre-pubertal age children. Method: Observational analytic study with a cross sectional design was used for this research. There are 60 elementary school students aged 6-9 years involved in this study, 30 obese students and 30 students with normal nutritional status. Fasting insulin, fasting blood glucose and HOMA IR index were carried out in Parahita Laboratory at Sidoarjo and leptin at Institute of Tropical Disease Airlangga University. Statistical analysis using independent t-test and pearson correlation with significance value < 0.05. ROC curve was used to detemined leptin cut off. Result: There was correlation between obesity with insulin resistence (BMI(0,000;0,748); Z score BMI for age (0,000;0,738)). There was no correlation between obesity with leptin plasma (BMI(0,175;-0,178); Z score BMI for age (0,147;-0,189). Leptin cut-off against insulin resistance in pre-puberty children was 0.589 ng/ml with a sensitivity value of 0.412 and specificity of 0.581. Conclusion: There was positive correlation between obesity by BMI and Z score BMI for age with insulin resistence in pre pubertal children.