Heterogeneous vascular responses to lifestyle intervention in obese Latino adolescents

Among adolescents, obesity may increase the risk for premature cardiovascular disease (CVD). Lifestyle interventions may prevent or delay the onset of CVD through improvements in vascular health. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a 12-week lifestyle intervention on markers of vascular health in obese Latino youth.

Fifteen obese Latino adolescents [body mass index (BMI) percentile=96.3±1.1%, 15.0±1.0 year, 8 females and 7 males] participated in a 12-week lifestyle intervention consisting of nutrition education and physical activity. Markers of vascular health included oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL), soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1), and soluble endothelial leukocyte adhesion molecule-1 (sE-Selectin).

Relative to baseline data, the intervention resulted in lower oxLDL (-21.8%, P=0.001) and sE-Selectin (-13.3%, P=0.008) concentrations; sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 did not change significantly. When examining overall responsiveness to change for each marker, oxLDL was reduced in 93.3%, sE-Selectin was reduced in 78.6%, and sICAM-1 was reduced in 71.4% of participants, respectively, whereas sVCAM-1 was reduced in only 42.9% of participants following lifestyle. Using a composite change score (summed change in four markers) for each participant there was an improvement in at least three of four markers among 64% of participants; this was confirmed by principal component analysis.

Therefore, although improvements in the vascular health of obese youth were observed, the vascular response to lifestyle intervention may be heterogeneous. Further investigation into the mechanisms mediating the heterogeneity in vascular response to lifestyle intervention is warranted.