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Leptin, acylcarnitine metabolites and development of adiposity in the Rhea mother-child cohort in Crete, Greece
W Perng1, E Oken2, T Roumeliotaki3
1Department of Nutritional Sciences University of Michigan School of Public Health Ann Arbor MI USA.
Insights
Serum leptin and specific metabolites at age 4 are linked to increased body mass index (BMI) z-score gain in children. These findings highlight early childhood metabolic markers associated with weight gain.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Metabolomics
- Childhood Obesity Research
Background:
- Leptin plays a crucial role in regulating energy balance and body weight.
- Early childhood is a critical period for adiposity development and growth trajectory establishment.
- Understanding early metabolic predictors of adiposity is vital for public health interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between serum leptin levels at age 4 and subsequent adiposity development and linear growth over a 3-year follow-up period in Greek children.
- To identify serum metabolites associated with leptin at age 4.
- To characterize the associations of these metabolites with adiposity gain and linear growth.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study involving 75 Greek children.
- Linear regression models were employed to analyze associations.
- Adjustments were made for maternal and child-specific factors (e.g., maternal age, education, gestational weight gain, child's age, and sex).
Main Results:
- Each unit increase in log-transformed leptin at age 4 correlated with a 0.33 unit increase in body mass index-for-age z-score gain by age 7.
- Elevated levels of methylmalonyl-carnitine and glutaconyl-carnitine were associated with increased BMI z-score gain.
- These associations were independent of linear growth and did not vary by sex or baseline weight status.
Conclusions:
- Serum leptin, methylmalonyl-carnitine, and potentially glutaconyl-carnitine are associated with weight gain during early childhood.
- These findings suggest potential early metabolic markers for childhood adiposity.
- Further research in diverse populations is recommended to validate these associations.
Objective:
This study aims to investigate relations of serum leptin at age 4 with development of adiposity and linear growth during 3 years of follow-up among 75 Greek children and to identify serum metabolites associated with leptin at age 4 and to characterize their associations with adiposity gain and linear growth.
Methods:
Linear regression models that accounted for maternal age, education and gestational weight gain and child's age and sex were used to examine associations of leptin and leptin-associated metabolites measured at age 4 with indicators of adiposity and linear growth at age 7.
Results:
Each 1-unit increment in natural log-(ln)-transformed leptin corresponded with 0.33 (95% CI: 0.10, 0.55) units greater body mass index-for-age z-score gain during follow-up. Likewise, higher levels of the leptin-associated metabolites methylmalonyl-carnitine and glutaconyl-carnitine corresponded with 0.14 (95% CI: 0.01, 0.27) and 0.07 (95% CI: -0.01, 0.16) units higher body mass index-for-age z-score gain, respectively. These relationships did not differ by sex or baseline weight status and were independent of linear growth.
Conclusions:
These findings suggest that leptin, methylmalonyl-carnitine and possibly glutaconyl-carnitine are associated with weight gain during early childhood. Future studies are warranted to confirm these findings in other populations.
