Abstract:
Background: To investigate effects of falciparum malaria on circulating levels of leptin and
Received 10 January 2015adiponectin in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and non-diabetic controls in relation to measures of adiposity.
Methods: Levels of leptin and adiponectin were measured in 100 type 2 diabetics and 100
age-matched controls before and during falciparum malaria in a 2-year prospective study.
and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were computed.
T2DMResults: At baseline, diabetics had significantly (p < 0.05) higher WC and BMI but lower
LeptinWHR, leptin and adiponectin levels. Baseline leptin correlated positively with WC
Adiponectin(r ¼ 0.633; p < 0.001) and BMI (r ¼ 0.63; p < 0.001) in diabetics but only BMI (0.562; p < 0.001) in
BMInon-diabetic controls. Baseline leptin and adiponectin correlated positively (r ¼ 0.249;
p ¼ 0.029) in non-diabetic respondents only. Adiponectin correlated negatively with WC
(r ¼ #0.58; p ¼ 0.006) in diabetic males only. During malaria, mean levels of leptin and
adiponectin were comparable (p > 0.05) between diabetics and controls. However,
compared to baseline levels, significant (p < 0.001) elevation of adiponectin was found in
both study groups. In respect of leptin, significant (p < 0.001) rise but decline was observed
in diabetics and controls respectively. Malaria-induced leptin correlated negatively with
adiponectin (r ¼ #0.694; p < 0.001) in non-diabetic controls only.
Conclusion: Diabetics and controls exhibited increased adiponectin levels due to falciparum
malaria but differed in response in terms of leptin levels.
