Relationship between serum leptin levels and clinical outcomes of hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage

Circulating leptin is associated with cardiovascular events but the relationship between leptin and the clinical outcomes of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is unclear. This study was to investigate the relationship between circulating leptin and the short-term clinical outcomes of ICH. Fifty-seven patients with hypertensive ICH (stroke group), 50 patients with hypertension (hypertension group), and 41 healthy subjects (control group) were recruited to this study. Serum levels of leptin were measured by radioimmunoassay. The serum level of leptin in the stroke group (14.6 ± 3.3 ng/L) was significantly higher than in the hypertension (10.2 ± 2.9 ng/L, P < 0.05) and control group (4.7 ± 3.3 ng/L, P < 0.01). Nine patients (15.8%) in the stroke group died during hospitalization. The mean National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score of the surviving patients at admission and before discharge was 16 ± 6 and 9 ± 5, respectively (P < 0.01). There was a significant correlation between the serum leptin level and predischarge NIHSS scores (r = 0.62, P < 0.01). After adjusting age, sex, ICH volume and location, fasting blood glucose, fasting insulin levels, and systolic blood pressure (SBP) multivariate analysis showed that a high leptin level (>10 ng/L) was an independent predictor for in hospital mortality (adjusted risk ratio (RR), 3.6; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.22-17.62; P = 0.02). In conclusion, serum leptin levels were increased in patients with hypertensive ICH. High leptin levels were associated with a poor functional recovery following ICH.