1. α-Defensins and bacterial/permeability-increasing protein as new markers of childhood obesity
- Author
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Prats-Puig A, Gispert-Saüch M, Carreras-Badosa G, Osiniri I, Soriano-Rodríguez P, Planella-Colomer M, de Zegher F, Ibañez-Toda L, Bassols J, and López-Bermejo A
- Subjects
Male ,Pediatric Obesity ,alpha-Defensins ,Anthropometry ,nutritional and metabolic diseases ,Blood Pressure ,Blood Proteins ,Carotid Intima-Media Thickness ,Cross-Sectional Studies ,Cardiovascular Diseases ,Risk Factors ,insulin resistance ,children ,Humans ,bacterial/permeability-increasing protein ,a-Defensins ,Female ,obesity ,Longitudinal Studies ,Child ,Biomarkers ,Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides - Abstract
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this paper is to test whether a-defensins and bacterial/permeability-increasing protein were related to obesity and cardiovascular risk factors in prepubertal children. METHODS: Plasma a-defensins and bacterial/permeability-increasing protein, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, systolic blood pressure (SBP), carotid intima media thickness (cIMT), HOMA-IR and HMW-adiponectin were assessed. RESULTS: In a cross-sectional study (N = 250), higher a-defensins concentrations were positively associated with BMI, waist, SBP, cIMT, HOMA-IR and negative correlated with HMW-adiponectin (all between r = 0.191 and r = 0.377, p = 0.01 and p = 0.0001). Conversely, plasma bacterial/permeability-increasing protein concentrations presented inversed associated with the same parameters (all between r = -0.124 and r = -0.329; p = 0.05 and p = 0.0001). In a longitudinal study (N = 91), a-defensins at age 7 were associated with BMI (ß = 0.189, p = 0.002; model R(2) = 0.847) and waist (ß = 0.241, pthinsp;= 0.001; model R(2) = 0.754) at age 10. CONCLUSIONS: a-Defensins and bacterial/permeability-increasing protein may be the markers of childhood obesity. Increased concentrations of a-defensins may predict BMI and abdominal fat deposition in children.
- Published
- 2015