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Desaturase Activity Is Associated With Weight Status and Metabolic Risk Markers in Young Children
Maike Wolters1, Heike Schlenz1, Claudia Börnhorst1
1Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology - BIPS (M.W., H.S., C.B., W.A.), Bremen, Germany; Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences (P.R., C.G.), DiSFeB, University of Milan, Milan, Italy; Growth, Exercise, Nutrition and Development (GENUD) Research Group (L.A.M.), University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain; Epidemiology and Prevention Unit (V.P.), Department of Preventive and Predictive Medicine, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale Dei Tumori, Milan, Italy; Epidemiology and Population Genetics (A.S.), Institute of Food Sciences, National Research Council, Avellino, Italy; National Institute for Health Development (T.V.), Tallinn, Estonia; Research and Education Institute of Child Health (M.T.), Strovolos, Cyprus; Medizinisches Versorgungszentrum Dr. Eberhard und Partner Dortmund (A.F.), Laboratoriumsmedizin, Dortmund, Germany; Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (S.H.), Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Public Health and Community Medicine (S.M.), Queen Silvia Children's Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden; National Institute of Health Promotion (D.M.), University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary; and Institute of Statistics (W.A.), Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany.
Context:
Activity of delta-9, delta-6, and delta-5 desaturases (D9D, D6D, D5D) are associated with obesity, insulin resistance, and dyslipidemia.
Objective:
To investigate the association of estimated desaturase activities with weight status, insulin resistance, and dyslipidemia in children, cross-sectionally and longitudinally.
Design:
The IDEFICS (Identification and Prevention of Dietary- and Lifestyle-Induced Health Effects in Children and Infants) cohort study was used, with examinations at baseline (T0) and after 2 years (T1).
Setting And Participants:
Children aged 2 to less than 10 years from eight European countries were recruited in kindergartens/primary schools. Children with available data on fatty acids, outcome, and covariate information were included in the analyses.
Methods:
Whole blood fatty acids were analyzed in 2600 children at baseline. D9D (16:1n-7/16:0), D6D (20:3n-6/18:2n-6), and D5D (20:4n-6/20:3n-6) activities were estimated from product-precursor fatty acids ratios. Body mass index (BMI), Homeostatic Model Assessment index, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), and triglycerides (TG) served as outcomes for weight status, insulin resistance, and dyslipidemia, respectively. Linear and logistic regression and repeated measures models were used to assess the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between desaturase activity and outcomes.
Results:
In the cross-sectional analysis, D9D and D6D were positively associated with BMI and TG z-scores and inversely with HDL z-scores. D5D was inversely associated with BMI and TG z-scores (ie, a D5D increase of 1 unit is associated with a BMI z-score decrease of 0.07 and a 28% lower odds ratio for TG ≥ 75th percentile). Longitudinally, similar associations were found for T0 desaturase activities with BMI and for T0 D6D with HDL at follow-up (T1). Baseline D6D and D5D were positively associated with the change of HDL z-score from T0 to T1, and D6D with the change of Homeostatic Model Assessment index z-score.
Conclusion:
Desaturase activities are associated with metabolic risk markers already in young children and appear to predict the metabolic risk.
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