Non-hematopoietic effects of endogenous erythropoietin on lean mass and body weight regulation.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the concurrent relationships between human plasma erythropoietin concentrations and energy expenditure (EE), body composition, plasma leptin concentrations, and associations with weight change.

METHODS

Plasma to measure erythropoietin and leptin; data for body composition; 24-h EE measured in a whole-room calorimeter; and 75 g oral glucose tolerance testing were available from 109 full-heritage Pima Indians (55% male) from a larger study designed to understand the causes of obesity. Seventy-nine subjects had data for weight at a later visit (mean follow-up = 4.3 ± 1.9 years) to calculate percent weight change per year.

RESULTS

Erythropoietin, adjusted for covariates, correlated with 24-h EE (r = 0.26, P = 0.007), sleeping EE (r = 0.29, P = 0.003), fat-free mass (r = 0.19, P = 0.05), and fat mass (r = 0.27, P = 0.005), but not insulin or glucose measures. The association of erythropoietin with 24-h EE was fully mediated by fat-free mass. Erythropoietin associated with leptin in women (ρ = 0.36, P = 0.01), but not in men (P = 0.9), independently from fat mass. The association of erythropoietin with percent weight change per year was in opposing directions (interaction: P = 0.002) in males (r = -0.35, P = 0.02) versus females (r = 0.37, P = 0.02).

CONCLUSIONS

Non-hematopoietic endogenous erythropoietin action may be involved in body weight regulation in opposing directions in men and women, i.e., weight loss in men and weight gain in women.