July - September 2018, Volume 14, Issue 3

Lopez-Sandoval J, Sanchez-Enriquez, Rivera-Leon EA, Bastidas-Ramirez BE, Garcia-Garcia MR, Gonzalez-Hita ME

Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Adolescents: Role of Insulin Resistance and Obesity

Acta Endo (Buc) 2018, 14 (3): 330-337
doi: 10.4183/aeb.2018.330

ntroduction. Childhood obesity is a public health problem characterized by early insulin resistance (IR), inflammation, and oxidative stress. The presence of an uninterrupted low-grade inflammatory state impairs metabolic and cardiovascular health. The population is particularly susceptible to develop metabolic disorders related to increased body fat. Methods. Eighty-three adolescents were recruited and grouped according to HOMA-IR and BMI in either with or without IR and obese or normal-weight respectively. Anthropometric, biochemical, immunological and hormonal variables were determined. Transverse Analytical Study. Results. Obesity, dyslipidemia, IL-6, and C-reactive protein were significantly higher in the IR group than in the non-IR group. Obese adolescents showed increased insulin levels, HOMA-IR, inflammatory markers, and triglycerides; while having lower HDL-C, and adiponectin when compared to normal-weight adolescents. As expected, obesity-related anthropometric markers positively correlated with IR and inflammatory markers while negatively correlated with adiponectin levels. Conclusions. Early IR, subclinical inflammation, dyslipidemia, and hypoadiponectinemia characterize obesity in adolescents. These factors may increase the risk of future coronary heart disease (CHD) and diabetes mellitus development (DM) in early adulthood.

Keywords: adolescents, obesity, body fat, cardiovascular risk, adiponectin

Correspondence: Mercedes Elvira Gonzalez-Hita PhD, Universidad de Guadalajara Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Molecular Biology and Genomics, Sierra Mojada 950, Col. Independicencia, Guadalajara, 44340, Mexico, E-mail: mhita@hotmail.com