SynthesisThe Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism2026
Sex Differences in Leptin Levels in Children and Adolescents with Normal Weight and Overweight/Obesity Across Pubertal Stages: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
Synthesis in The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Sex Differences in Leptin Levels in Children and Adolescents with Normal Weight and Overweight/Obesity Across Pubertal Stages: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2026Pooled it
- The effect of high intensity interval training on body composition, metabolic, inflammatory and oxidative stress markers in adolescents with obesity.Diabetology & metabolic syndrome · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
contextLeptin levels differ significantly between adult men and women, it is unknown whether these sex differences arise during puberty in children with normal weight (NW) or overweight (OW)/obesity (OB).
objectiveTo analyze sex differences in leptin levels and body mass index SD score across pubertal stages in children with NW and OW/OB. DATA SOURCES: Eligible studies were obtained from Medline, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane, and CINAHL from inception until February 2025. STUDY SELECTION: Twenty-four of 1713 studies assessing leptin levels in children aged 5 to 19 years were included. DATA EXTRACTION: Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed study quality. DATA SYNTHESIS: We performed subgroup meta-analysis stratified for pubertal stage using random effects model to estimate the weighted mean difference in R. Girls with NW had higher leptin levels than boys at all pubertal stages (pooled mean difference [MD]: 3.99; 95% CI, 2.63-5.35). In children with OW/OB, no significant differences were found in the prepubertal and pubertal stages. At the postpubertal stage, leptin levels were higher in girls compared to boys (MD: 14.60; 95% CI, 0.95-28.25), based on 1 included study. In pubertal children with OW/OB, body mass index SD score was higher in boys than girls (MD: -0.67; 95% CI, -0.74 to -0.61).
conclusionThe sex-specific differences in leptin levels, characteristic of normal-weight (pre-)pubertal children is lost in obesity. Therefore, leptin levels alone are unlikely to explain why obesity accelerates puberty in girls more than in boys. A combined effect with other factors, such as sex dimorphism in kisspeptin, may play a role.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.