Serum visfatin concentration in eutrophic and overweight/obese male children in early childhood

Background and Purpose: Childhood overweight/obesity is considered a global epidemic, which began earlier in pediatric patients and presents a major health risk in adulthood. It is well known that adipose tissue is an active endocrine inflammatory organ in obese adults, but its neurohormone activity in the childhood is not yet clarified. Visfatin is one of adipokines with insulin-mimetic and proinflammatory-atherosclerotic effect, whose role in the child’s age is still unknown as well as its physiological concentrations in serum of prepubertal children. The aim of this study was to determine visfatin serum concentration at the early age in eutrophic and overweight/obese male children and its association with arterial blood pressure. Materials and Methods: Healthy boys, 2-14 years old, hospitalized for elective inguinal hernia surgery has been included in the study (N=31) and were divided into two groups according to percentile curve: a) overweight/obese (O/O:above the 85th percentile) and b) eutrophic (E:5th-85th percentile). Anthropometric and biochemical measurements and specific serum levels of visfatin by enzyme immunoassay were determined. Results and Conclusion: Both groups of examinees, eutrophic and overweight/obese, had a normal metabolic profile band on percentile ranks (fasting glucose values and all fractions of lipid profile) and values of blood pressure. However overweight/obese boys had significant higher systolic blood pressure than eutrophic boys, p=0,028. Serum visfatin were 6.90±3.97 ng/ml in eutrophic boys, while in overweight/obese were 7.82±3.75 ng/ml, p=0,57. There is a tendency of visfatin serum concentration to increase with increase of body weight and growing. This suggests possible role of visfatin in future metabolic and cardiovascular processes related to increase in body mass