Abstract
Background/objectivesEpidemiological evidence indicates obesity in childhood and adolescence to be an independent risk factor for cancer and premature mortality in adulthood. Pathological implications from excess adiposity may begin early in life. Obesity is concurrent with a state of chronic inflammation, a well-known aetiological factor for DNA damage. In addition, obesity has been associated with micro-nutritional deficiencies. Vitamin D has attracted attention for its anti-inflammatory properties and role in genomic integrity and stability. The aim of this study was to determine a novel approach for predicting genomic instability via the combined assessment of adiposity, DNA damage, systemic inflammation, and vitamin D status.Subjects/methodsWe carried out a cross-sectional study with 132 participants, aged 10–18, recruited from schools and paediatric obesity clinics in London. Anthropometric assessments included BMI Z-score, waist and hip circumference, and body fat percentage via bioelectrical impedance. Inflammation and vitamin D levels in saliva were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Oxidative DNA damage was determined via quantification of 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine in urine. Exfoliated cells from the oral cavity were scored for genomic instability via the buccal cytome assay.ResultsAs expected, comparisons between participants with obesity and normal range BMI showed significant differences in anthropometric measures (p < 0.001). Significant differences were also observed in some measures of genomic instability (p < 0.001). When examining relationships between variables for all participants, markers of adiposity positively correlated with acquired oxidative DNA damage (p < 0.01) and genomic instability (p < 0.001), and negatively correlated with vitamin D (p < 0.01). Multiple regression analyses identified obesity (p < 0.001), vitamin D (p < 0.001), and oxidative DNA damage (p < 0.05) as the three significant predictors of genomic instability.ConclusionsObesity, oxidative DNA damage, and vitamin D deficiency are significant predictors of genomic instability. Non-invasive biomonitoring and predictive modelling of genomic instability in young patients with obesity may contribute to the prioritisation and severity of clinical intervention measures.
Highlights
There is growing epidemiological evidence that indicates obesity in childhood and adolescence to be an independent risk factor for cancer and premature mortality in adulthood
It is undisputed that chronic inflammation may have detrimental effects on DNA integrity and stability, and that genomic instability—a dynamic state characterised by elevated rates of genetic changes resulting from either cellcycle dysfunctionalities or events affecting DNA integrity— is an enabling characteristic for the complex, multi-step process of tumorigenesis [18, 19]
A Chi-squared analysis revealed no significant differences in ethnic groups across BMI categories (p = 0.39)
Summary
There is growing epidemiological evidence that indicates obesity in childhood and adolescence to be an independent risk factor for cancer and premature mortality in adulthood. A recent meta-analysis of five systematic reviews and 37 studies including 22 cohorts concluded that on average, there is a 20% increase in the odds of acquiring cancer in adulthood per standard deviation increase in childhood BMI [5]. These findings imply that prevention or early interventions with obesity in childhood may possibly reduce the rates of cancer in adulthood. A recent review has described how low-grade inflammation and reduced natural killer cell functionality in obesity may promote malignancy and be a possible causative mechanism for the increased risk of cancer later in life [17]. It is undisputed that chronic inflammation may have detrimental effects on DNA integrity and stability, and that genomic instability—a dynamic state characterised by elevated rates of genetic changes resulting from either cellcycle dysfunctionalities or events affecting DNA integrity— is an enabling characteristic for the complex, multi-step process of tumorigenesis [18, 19]
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