Premium
Leptin and asthma in overweight children at 12 years of age
Author(s) -
Mai XiaoMei,
Böttcher Malin F.,
Leijon Ingemar
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
pediatric allergy and immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.269
H-Index - 89
eISSN - 1399-3038
pISSN - 0905-6157
DOI - 10.1111/j.1399-3038.2004.00195.x
Subject(s) - overweight , medicine , asthma , leptin , obesity , pediatrics , allergy , risk factor , immunology
Obesity is suggested as a risk factor for asthma, but the mechanisms are unclear. The relationship between obesity and asthma has not been considered in children born with very low‐birth weight (VLBW). We hypothesized that overweight was a contributing factor for asthma in VLBW children, and that leptin and leptin‐associated cytokines might play roles in overweight‐related asthma. Seventy‐four VLBW and 64 normal birth weight (NBW) children participated in a 12‐yr follow up study assessing asthma and allergy. Twenty‐seven (12 VLBW) of the 138 children were overweight according to the proposed international definition. The diagnosis of current asthma was made by a pediatrician. Serum levels of leptin and interferon (IFN)‐ γ were analyzed by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Leptin levels were considerably higher in the overweight than in the non‐overweight children (median value: 18.1 vs. 2.8 ng/ml, p < 0.001). In the overweight children, current asthmatics had twice as high levels of leptin as children without current asthma (median value: 30.8 vs. 14.3 ng/ml, p = 0.14), but this was not the case in the non‐overweight children. IFN‐ γ was more often detected in the overweight than in the non‐overweight children (61% vs. 12%, p < 0.001), and there was a positive correlation between the levels of leptin and the levels of IFN‐ γ (Rho = 0.40, p < 0.001). In the VLBW group, the overweight children had a significantly increased risk for current asthma compared with the non‐overweight children after adjustment for the neonatal risk factors [adjusted odds ratio (OR) 5.8, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.2–27]. Thus, overweight was associated with asthma in the VLBW children. Our hypothesis remained that leptin might be involved in the pathogenesis of asthma in the overweight children, and IFN‐ γ might be a pathway in the process of leptin‐induced inflammation.