Abstract

BackgroundPlasma-free amino acid profiles have been reported to correlate with obesity and glucose metabolism, and have been studied as potentially useful biomarkers of lifestyle-related diseases affecting metabolism in adulthood. However, knowledge of these relationships is lacking in children, despite the growing public health problem posed by childhood obesity.The aim of this study was to assess whether plasma-free amino acid profiles can serve as useful biomarkers of lifestyle-related diseases in children with obesity.MethodsThis retrospective study used the medical records of 26 patients (15 male, 11 female) aged 9 or 10 years presenting with moderate to severe obesity and hyperlipidemia between April 2015 and March 2017. A degree of obesity of 30% or more was defined as moderate or severe. Amino acid levels were compared between obese children with and without impaired glucose tolerance using a t-test or Mann–Whitney U test. In addition, the influence of factors such as intima media thickness, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, amino acids, and homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were analyzed pairwise using Pearson’s correlation or Spearman’s rank correlation.ResultsHOMA-IR was positively correlated with valine, leucine (Leu), isoleucine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, methionine, threonine, lysine, alanine, tyrosine, glutamate (Glu), proline, arginine, ornithine, total free amino acids (all P < 0.01), and aspartate (P = 0.010). Moreover, blood uric acid levels were positively correlated with Leu (P = 0.005) and Glu (P = 0.019), and negatively correlated with serine, glycine, and asparagine (P = 0.007, P = 0.003, and P = 0.013, respectively).ConclusionsAmino acid profile reflects impaired glucose tolerance and hyperuricemia at an early stage of obesity. It is therefore a useful marker to inform early intervention in children with obesity, as in adults.

Highlights

  • Plasma-free amino acid profiles have been reported to correlate with obesity and glucose metabolism, and have been studied as potentially useful biomarkers of lifestyle-related diseases affecting metabolism in adulthood

  • Nineteen percent (5/26) of obese children in this study developed simple obesity with no abnormalities in blood data, 58% (15/26) developed hypercholesterolemia (LDL-CHO ≥ 140 mg/dL), 19% (5/26) developed hypertriglyceridemia (TG ≥ 120 mg/dL), 8% (2/26) developed hypoHDLemia (HDL-CHO < 40 mg/dL), 19% (5/26) developed hyperuricemia (UA ≥ 6 mg/dL), 35% (9/26) developed impaired glucose tolerance (HOMA-R ≥ 2.5), and

  • Correlations involving lipid levels Total cholesterol (T-CHO) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-CHO) levels were negatively correlated with body mass index (BMI), homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), blood insulin, and γ-GTP levels (Table 1)

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Summary

Introduction

Plasma-free amino acid profiles have been reported to correlate with obesity and glucose metabolism, and have been studied as potentially useful biomarkers of lifestyle-related diseases affecting metabolism in adulthood. Knowledge of these relationships is lacking in children, despite the growing public health problem posed by childhood obesity. The aim of this study was to assess whether plasma-free amino acid profiles can serve as useful biomarkers of lifestylerelated diseases in children with obesity. This study focused on children aged 9 or 10 years who were subjected to screening and intervention for obesity to prevent adult and pediatric lifestyle diseases

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