Area of research
Endocrine and Autonomic Systems · Epidemiology
Research interest
Research topics from publications: Sex and Body Circumferences Associated with Serum Leptin in African American Adults; THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEPTIN AND CARDIOVASCULAR RISK FACTORS IN OLDER AFRICAN AMERICANS. Representative work: Objective: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) continues to be a leading cause of death for U.S. adults, especially African Americans (AA). Yet, few studies have examined a comprehensive set of metabolic health and health behavior factors related to CVD risk in this population. This study investigated the relationship between serum leptin and anthropometries (body mass index [BMI], circumferences [waist-WC, hip-HC, and waist/hip ratio W/H]), metabolic health (systolic and diastolic blood pressure [BP], serum lipids, glucose, and C-reactive protein [CRP]), and health behaviors (hours of sleep, physical activity) in midlife and older AAs. Materials and Methods: Participants ( n = 89, ≥45 years of age African Americans (AAs) have high prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD), possibly resulting from higher obesity rates and accompanying serum leptin levels. This study examines the relationship between serum leptin levels, physical health (diastolic and systolic blood pressure [DBP, SBP], Body Mass Index [BMI]) and health behaviors (hours of sleep, physical activity [PA]) in mid-life and older African Americans (n=89), using data from six churches in two counties in North Florida, USA. Three multiple linear regression block analyses were performed with leptin as a dependent variable: Model 1 included confounding factors (taking aspirin regularly, currently smoking, taking BP medication,