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Published on: February 2, 2017
Pentraxin 3 as a Marker for Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Overweight and Obese Children
Pinar Dervisoglu1, Bahri Elmas2
1Department of Pediatric Cardiology.
Insights
Elevated pentraxin 3 levels indicate increased cardiovascular risk in overweight and obese children. This inflammatory marker may serve as an early predictor of cardiovascular disease in pediatric populations.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Cardiovascular Research
- Inflammation Biomarkers
Background:
- Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) is an inflammatory mediator implicated in atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases.
- Subclinical inflammation is a concern in overweight and obese children, potentially increasing cardiovascular risk.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the predictive value of pentraxin 3 (PTX3) as an inflammatory biomarker in overweight and obese children.
- To assess the association of PTX3 levels with cardiovascular parameters in these pediatric groups.
Main Methods:
- A comparative study involving three groups: overweight (n=35), obese (n=35), and healthy controls (n=70).
- Measurement of cardiovascular parameters and serum pentraxin 3 (PTX3) levels in all participants.
- Correlation and regression analyses were performed to identify associations between PTX3, anthropometric, and cardiovascular measures.
Main Results:
- Significantly higher PTX3 levels were observed in overweight and obese children compared to healthy controls.
- PTX3 levels correlated with carotid intima media thickness and epicardial adipose tissue thickness in the overweight group.
- Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis identified optimal PTX3 cut-off values for predicting obesity and overweight status, with moderate sensitivity and specificity.
Conclusions:
- Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) may serve as an early indicator of cardiovascular risk in overweight and obese children.
- Further longitudinal studies are warranted to confirm the predictive capability of PTX3 for future cardiovascular events in pediatric populations.
Background:
Pentraxin 3 is an inflammatory mediator that may be associated with subclinical inflammation in atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases. This study investigated the predictive value of pentraxin 3 as an inflammatory biomarker in overweight and obese children.
Methods:
Participants were categorized into three groups: overweight (n = 35), obese (n = 35), and healthy controls (n = 70). Cardiovascular parameters and pentraxin 3 were measured in all participants.
Results:
The mean pentraxin 3 level was significantly higher in the overweight (10.23 ± 4.42 ng/ml) and obese (11.20 ± 4.12 ng/ml) groups compared to the control (7.93 ± 4.35 ng/ml) group. Pentraxin 3 was significantly correlated with carotid intima media thickness and epicardial adipose tissue thickness in the overweight group. In the linear regression analysis, body mass index and systolic blood pressure were significantly correlated with pentraxin 3 levels in the overweight group, whereas only heart rate was correlated with pentraxin 3 levels in the obese group. In receiver operating characteristic analysis, the optimal cut-off value for pentraxin 3 in the obese group was 9.321 ng/mL, with sensitivity and specificity of 77.1% and 74.3%, respectively [area under the curve (AUC) = 0.764, p < 0.001]. In the overweight group, the optimal cut-off value of pentraxin 3 was 9.263 ng/mL, with sensitivity and specificity of 62.9% and 72.9%, respectively (AUC = 0.687, p = 0.002).
Conclusions:
Pentraxin 3 may be an early marker of cardiovascular risk in overweight children. Future longitudinal studies are needed to evaluate the predictive value of pentraxin 3 for cardiovascular disease.
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