Leptin and Pregnancy: Research Review

Leptin is a hormone released by fat cells that regulates hunger and many aspects of pregnancy. High leptin levels are linked to multiple reproductive issues including impaired egg production, pregnancy failures and complications. Low leptin levels might be linked to miscarriage.

Research

High leptin levels have been shown to disrupt folliculogenesis (maturation of follicle leading to the production of a fertilizable egg)¹. This translates into “poor” embryo quality and ultimately higher chances for pregnancy failure².

On the other hand, in non-overweight PCOS women, lower leptin serum levels put them at higher risk for lower fertilization rate as the follicle maturation requires physiologic levels of leptin³.
Interestingly, leptin levels are negatively associated with EPA and DHA levels³.

Further, studies have found that a diet rich in Fish can significantly lower leptin levels⁴. Lastly, a large meta-analysis showed that omega 3 supplementation significantly reduced leptin levels⁵.

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References

1. Agarwal SK, Vogel K, Weitsman SR, Magoffin DA. Leptin antagonizes the insulin-like growth factor-I augmentation of steroidogenesis in granulosa and theca cells of the human ovary. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1999 Mar;84(3):1072-6.
2. Anifandis G, Koutselini E, Stefanidis I, Liakopoulos V, Leivaditis C, Mantzavinos T, Vamvakopoulos N. Serum and follicular fluid leptin levels are correlated with human embryo quality. Reproduction. 2005 Dec;130(6):917-21.
3. Winnicki M, Somers VK, Accurso V, Phillips BG, Puato M, Palatini P, Pauletto P. Fish-rich diet, leptin, and body mass. Circulation. 2002 Jul 16;106(3):289-91.
4. Santos S, Oliveira A, Pinho C, Casal S, Lopes C. Fatty acids derived from a food frequency questionnaire and measured in the erythrocyte membrane in relation to adiponectin and leptin concentrations. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2014 May;68(5):555-60.
5. Garruti G, de Palo R, Rotelli MT, Nocera S, Totaro I, Nardelli C, Panzarino MA, Vacca M, Selvaggi LE, Giorgino F. Association between follicular fluid leptin and serum insulin levels in nonoverweight women with polycystic ovary syndrome. Biomed Res Int. 2014; 2014:980429.
6. Hariri M, Ghiasvand R, Shiranian A, Askari G, Iraj B, Salehi-Abargouei A. Does omega-3 fatty acids supplementation affect circulating leptin levels? A systematic review and meta-analysis on randomized controlled clinical trials. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2015 Feb;82(2):221-8.