Longitudinal changes of circadian leptin, insulin and cortisol plasma levels and their correlation during refeeding in patients with anorexia nervosa

Abstract

Absolute leptin, insulin and cortisol levels are profoundly changed during starvation in anorectic patients, while refeeding, paralleled by a BMI gain, reverses these changes. During refeeding the relationship between leptin and cortisol changed profoundly, showing no significant correlation in the state of starvation, whereas at T3 after refeeding a strong inverse relationship could be observed. Leptin and insulin did not correlate significantly at any of the three stages studied.