The relationship between childhood obesity with inflammatory mediators

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Endocrinology
• Immunology
• Obesity Research

Background:

• Obesity is a growing global health concern in children.
• Systemic inflammation is increasingly recognized as a key factor in obesity-related complications.
• Obesity markers require further investigation for their association with inflammatory indices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between various obesity markers and the systemic immune-inflammatory index (SII) in children.
• To identify potential inflammatory biomarkers for monitoring obesity and its comorbidities.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 335 children (aged 6-16 years) with obesity.
• Measurements included height, weight, BMI, fat percentage, fat mass, and waist circumference.
• Haematological parameters were analyzed to calculate neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and SII.

Main Results:

• Fat percentage (F%) was a significant independent risk factor for SII in girls (p<0.01).
• Fat mass (FM) was a significant independent risk factor for NLR in girls (p<0.01).
• Other obesity markers like BMI and waist circumference did not show significant independent associations with NLR or SII in the multivariate model.

Conclusions:

• Increased fat percentage and fat mass in obese children are associated with elevated systemic inflammation.
• SII and NLR show potential as inflammatory biomarkers for tracking obesity-related comorbidities.
• These findings highlight the role of fat accumulation in driving inflammation in pediatric obesity.