Early adiposity rebound in patients with Prader-Willi syndrome

Background Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is associated with marked obesity that can lead to severe complications such as diabetes mellitus. Early adiposity rebound (AR) is associated with future obesity and an increased risk of diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome. Previous reports have shown that the onset of AR occurred earlier in diseases that cause obesity. However, there have been no studies focusing on the timing of AR in PWS, or on the effect of growth hormone (GH) treatment on AR. The aim of this study was to explore AR in PWS patients and to analyze the effect of GH treatment on AR. Methods This retrospective study evaluated 48 patients, with 16 of the patients found to have AR prior to GH treatment. AR was constructed for each patient using Microsoft Excel, and the exact point of the nadir of body mass index (BMI) following the initial peak was determined. We additionally analyzed the relationship between GH treatment and the timing of AR onset. Results AR onset for patients found to have AR before starting GH treatment was 16.0 (13.0-21.0) months. In contrast, AR onset for patients found to have AR after starting GH treatment was 27.5 (23.8-36.3) months. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (p=0.0001). A positive correlation was found between the GH treatment period and AR (p=0.00013). Conclusion The median age of AR onset in PWS patients was 16.0 (13.0-21.0) months, and GH treatment might delay the early AR onset.