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Circulating Oxidized LDL and Inflammation in Extreme Pediatric Obesity
Author(s) -
Norris Anne L.,
Steinberger Julia,
Steffen Lyn M.,
Metzig Andrea M.,
Schwarzenberg Sarah Jane,
Kelly Aaron S.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
obesity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.438
H-Index - 199
eISSN - 1930-739X
pISSN - 1930-7381
DOI - 10.1038/oby.2011.21
Subject(s) - medicine , percentile , overweight , obesity , endocrinology , childhood obesity , insulin resistance , blood pressure , statistics , mathematics
Oxidative stress and inflammation have not been well‐characterized in extreme pediatric obesity. We compared levels of circulating oxidized low‐density lipoprotein (oxLDL), C‐reactive protein (CRP), and interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) in extremely obese (EO) children to normal weight (NW) and overweight/obese (OW/OB) children. OxLDL, CRP, IL‐6, BMI, blood pressure, and fasting glucose, insulin, and lipids were obtained in 225 children and adolescents (age 13.5 ± 2.5 years; boys 55%). Participants were classified into three groups based on gender‐ and age‐specific BMI percentile: NW (<85th, n = 127), OW/OB (85th– <1.2 times the 95th percentile, n = 64) and EO (≥1.2 times the 95th percentile or BMI ≥35 kg/m 2 , n = 34). Measures were compared across groups using analysis of covariance, adjusted for gender, age, and race. Blood pressure, insulin, and lipids worsened across BMI groups (all P < 0.0001). OxLDL (NW: 40.8 ± 9.0 U/l, OW/OB: 45.7 ± 12.1 U/l, EO: 63.5 ± 13.8 U/l) and CRP (NW: 0.5 ± 1.0 mg/l, OW/OB: 1.4 ± 2.9 mg/l, EO: 5.6 ± 4.9 mg/l) increased significantly across BMI groups (all groups differed with P < 0.01). IL‐6 was significantly higher in EO (2.0 ± 0.9 pg/ml) compared to OW/OB (1.3 ± 1.2 pg/ml, P < 0.001) and NW (1.1 ± 1.0 pg/ml, P < 0.0001) but was not different between NW and OW/OB. Extreme pediatric obesity, compared to milder forms of adiposity and NW, is associated with higher levels of oxidative stress and inflammation, suggesting that markers of early cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus are already present in this young population.