Resistin, inflammation and dyslipidemia in obese children and adolescents

Introduction: Childhood obesity is related to cardiovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus type 2 in later life. Resistin, an adipokine primarily secreted by monocytes and tissue macrophages in humans, is considered to be associated with these conditions. The Aim: To examine the correlations between resistin concentration and anthropometric parameters, lipid status, inflammatory markers and parameters of insulin resistance in obese children and adolescents. Material and Methods: The study included 66 patients (40 boys, 26 girls), which underwent anthropometric measuring and laboratory testing (glucose level, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-cholesterol), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-cholesterol), triglycerides, uric acid, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c). Insulin resistance was estimated with HOMA-IR (homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance). Results: We determined that 63.3% of our patients had dyslipidemia, while hsCRP and uric acid levels suggested an ongoing inflammation. We established that there was a correlation between resistin concentration and waist to hip ratio (WHR) (r=0.294, p<0.05), as well as between resistin concentration and HOMA-IR (r=0.293, p<0.05). Also, uric acid levels correlated with obesity parameters. While comparing parameters by gender we found a significant difference in height (p<0.01), WHR (p<0.001), uric acid levels (p<0.01) and HOMA-IR (p<0.01). Conclusion: Our results show a link between obesity, inflammation and dyslipidemia in children and adolescents. In the future, resistin could become a significant clinical marker for evaluation of cardiometabolic risk.