Plasma levels of orexin-a and leptin in obese children

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Yasusada Kawada1, Hidemasa Hayashibe2, Kohtaro Asayama1

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Kitakyushu, Japan.

Clinical Pediatric Endocrinology : Case Reports and Clinical Investigations : Official Journal of the Japanese Society for Pediatric Endocrinology
|May 3, 2014
PubMed

Insights

Obese children show higher plasma orexin-A levels, which correlate with leptin. This suggests a link between orexin-A and obesity markers in pediatric populations.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Endocrinology
  • Metabolic Research
  • Obesity Studies

Background:

  • Childhood obesity is a growing global health concern.
  • Orexin, a neuropeptide, plays a role in regulating energy balance.
  • Understanding orexin's role in pediatric obesity is crucial for developing effective interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate plasma orexin-A levels in obese children.
  • To examine the relationship between orexin-A and metabolic/anthropometric markers in this population.
  • To compare orexin-A levels with leptin, a key obesity-related hormone.

Main Methods:

  • A cross-sectional study involving 47 obese Japanese children and 26 age-matched nonobese controls.
  • Fasting blood samples were collected to measure plasma orexin-A and leptin concentrations.
  • Anthropometric measurements including percentage overweight, waist-to-hip ratio, waist circumference, and body fat percentage were assessed.

Main Results:

  • Obese children exhibited significantly higher plasma orexin-A levels compared to controls (17.0 ± 0.4 pg/ml vs. 13.5 ± 1.1 pg/ml, p<0.001).
  • Plasma leptin concentrations were also significantly elevated in obese children (12.0 ± 1.0 ng/ml vs. 5.2 ± 0.4 ng/ml, p<0.001).
  • A strong positive correlation was observed between plasma orexin-A and leptin levels in obese children (r=0.49, p<0.001). Orexin-A also correlated with waist-to-hip ratio, while leptin correlated with percentage overweight, waist circumference, and body fat percentage.

Conclusions:

  • Elevated plasma orexin-A levels are associated with obesity in children.
  • Plasma orexin-A levels parallel leptin levels in obese children, suggesting a potential shared regulatory pathway.
  • These findings highlight orexin-A as a potential biomarker and therapeutic target in pediatric obesity.

Keywords:
child and adolescentsimmunoassayleptinobesityorexin (hypocretin)

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