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Fecal Calprotectin in Healthy Children Aged 1-4 Years
Qingling Zhu1, Feng Li1, Junli Wang1
1Department of Child and Adolescent Healthcare, MOE-Shanghai Key Laboratory of Children's Environmental Health, Xinhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200092, China.
Insights
Fecal calprotectin (FC) levels in healthy children aged 1-4 years decrease with age. These concentrations are lower than in infants but higher than in older children and adults.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Clinical Chemistry
- Biomarker Research
Background:
- Fecal calprotectin (FC) is a validated biomarker for intestinal inflammation.
- Recent studies have established reference ranges for FC in adults and children.
- Understanding FC levels in specific pediatric age groups is crucial for accurate interpretation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine fecal calprotectin concentrations in healthy children aged 1 to 4 years.
- To analyze the relationship between age and FC levels in this cohort.
- To establish normative data for pediatric FC in the 1-4 year age range.
Main Methods:
- Recruitment of 274 healthy children aged 1-4 years from nurseries.
- Collection of clinical and sociodemographic data, including anthropometric measurements (LAZ, WAZ, WLZ).
- Quantification of fecal calprotectin using a commercial ELISA kit.
Main Results:
- Median FC concentration was 83.19 μg/g, with significant variation (IQR 14.69-419.45 μg/g).
- FC concentrations showed a statistically significant downward trend with increasing age (P=0.016), particularly between 1-2 and 3-4 year olds (P=0.007).
- No correlation was observed between FC levels and anthropometric Z-scores, birth weight, or birth length.
Conclusions:
- Healthy children aged 1-4 years exhibit lower fecal calprotectin levels compared to infants under 1 year.
- FC concentrations in this age group are higher than in children over 4 years and adults.
- Age is a significant factor influencing fecal calprotectin levels in young children.
Objective:
Calprotectin has been well emulated recently in adults as well as in children. The aim of this study was to assess fecal calprotectin concentrations in healthy children aged from 1 to 4 years.
Methods:
Volunteers were enlisted from 3 nurseries. A brief questionnaire was used to ensure these children meet the inclusion criteria, and some clinical and sociodemographic factors were collected. Anthro software (version 3.1) was used to calculated Length-for-age Z-scores (LAZ), weight-for-age Z-scores (WAZ), and weight-for-length Z-scores (WLZ) respectively. Fecal calprotectin was detected by a commercially available ELISA.
Results:
In total 274 children were recruited, with age ranging from 1 to 4 years old. The median FC concentration was 83.19 μg/g [range 4.58 to 702.50 μg/g, interquartile range (IQR) 14.69-419.45 μg/g] or 1.92 log10 μg/g (range 0.66 log10 to 2.85 log10 μg/g, IQR 1.17 log10-2.62 log10 μg/g). All of the children were divided into three groups, 1-2 years (12-24 months), 2-3 years (24-36 months), 3-4 years (36-48 months), with median FC concentrations 96.14 μg/g (1.98 log10 μg/g), 81.48 μg/g (1.91 log10 μg/g), 65.36 μg/g (1.82 log10 μg/g), respectively. There was similar FC level between boys and girls. FC concentrations showed a downward trend by the growing age groups. A statistic difference was found in FC concentrations among groups 1-2 years, 2-3 years and 3-4 years (P = 0.016). In inter-groups comparison, a significant difference was found between children aged 1-2 years and children aged 3-4 years (P = 0.007). A negative correlation trend was found between age and FC concentration (Spearman's rho = -0.167, P = 0.005) in all the participants. A simple correlation was performed among WLZ, WAZ, birth weight, or birth length with FC, and there was no correlation being observed.
Conclusion:
Children aged from 1 to 4 years old have lower FC concentrations compared with healthy infants (<1years), and higher FC concentrations when comparing with children older than 4 years and adults.
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