Abstract 11443: Higher Leptin Levels are Associated With Reduced Left Ventricular Mass and Left Ventricular Diastolic Stiffness in African American Women: Insights From the Genetic Epidemiology Network of Arteriopathy (GENOA) Study

Background: Leptin has been associated with left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy and heart failure in some epidemiologic studies while other studies have demonstrated a beneficial effect on cardiac remodeling and function. We hypothesized that leptin may play a role in protecting the heart from developing LV hypertrophy and stiffening. Methods and Results: We evaluated 1172 African Americans with preserved LV ejection fraction (EF >50%) from the Genetic Epidemiology Network of Arteriopathy (GENOA) Study (mean age 62.9 years, 72% women). LV diastolic stiffness was assessed by echocardiography using the diastolic wall strain (DWS) indicator. Associations between leptin levels and indices of LV structure and function were evaluated using generalized estimating equations (GEE) approach with Gaussian distribution accounting for clustering in siblings. All models were adjusted for possible confounders including age, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, blood pressure lowering medication, coronary heart disease, current smoking status and estimated glomerular filtration rate and stratified by sex because leptin levels were three times higher in women than men (p Conclusions: Higher leptin levels were associated with lower LV mass and LV diastolic stiffness in obese African American women. Leptin may play an important role in protecting the heart from developing precursors to heart failure in obese African American women.