The relationship between leptin and insulin resistance among middle-aged and elderly populations in Asia is seldom reported. Our research included 398 middle-aged and elderly Taiwanese individuals. First, we divided participants into three groups according to the tertiles of the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) to analyze the parameters between each group. Pearson’s correlation was then applied to calculate the correlation between HOMA-IR and cardiometabolic risk factors after adjusting for age. A scatter plot indicated a relationship between serum leptin levels and the HOMA-IR index. Finally, the coefficients of the serum leptin level and HOMA-IR were assessed by multivariate linear regression. The participants in the high HOMA-IR index group were more likely to have higher serum leptin levels. Meanwhile, the HOMA-IR index was positively correlated with serum leptin levels, even after adjusting for age. Serum leptin levels were positively correlated with the HOMA-IR index (β = 0.226, p < 0.01) in the multivariate linear regression after adjusting for age, sex, smoking, drinking, BMI, triglycerides, systolic blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, uric acid, ALT, and creatinine. Furthermore, the leptin−creatinine ratio also showed a significantly positive relationship with HOMA-IR in the same multivariate linear regression model. In conclusion, serum leptin levels showed a positive relationship with insulin resistance in middle-aged and elderly people in Taiwan. Furthermore, serum leptin levels may be an independent risk factor for insulin resistance according to our study.
Keywords: HOMA-IR index; insulin resistance; leptin; metabolic syndrome; middle-aged and elderly; obesity.