Table 1.
Clinical and biochemical characteristics of the study population
| Trait | All subjects | Normal-weight | Overweight | Obese | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (n = 23) | (n = 7) | (n = 8) | (n = 8) | ||
| Sex (male %) | 9 (39.1) | 3(42.9) | 3(37.5) | 3 (37.5) | 0.971 |
| Age (years) | 11.7 (10.7–12.20) | 11.9 (10.8–12.3) | 11.9 (11.0–12.4) | 10.8 (10.5–11-8) | 0.122 |
| Clinical | |||||
| Height percentile | 67.1 (58.4–74.3) | 65.6 (38.2–76.4) | 73.8 (65.0–82.3) | 60.1 (49.6–69.7) | 0.078 |
| BMI percentile | 92.0 (77.7–95.4) | 59.0 (10.1–77.0) | 91.6 (89.4–93.6) | 96.3 (95.3–97.1) | 5.6 × 10–5 |
| Body fat (% of BW) | 40.2 (31.8–46.4) | 28.6 (25.65–31.82) | 40.1 (39.8–44.7) | 47.6 (42.9–49.8) | 2.1 × 10–4 |
| Systolic BP percentile | 67.3 (30.5–80) | 25.8 (22.2–35.7) | 71.2 (39.4–81.3) | 67.6 (63.0–85.9) | 0.066 |
| Diastolic BP percentile | 81.2 (63.2–89.9) | 63.2 (53.5–82.6) | 85.0 (74.3–92.5) | 80.5 (68.1–91.5) | 0.272 |
| Biochemical | |||||
| Glucose (mg/dL) | 89 (86–93) | 89.0 (86.0–89.0) | 89.5 (86.5–94.5) | 89.0 (85.5–93.3) | 0.866 |
| Insulin (µU/mL) | 8.20 (5.80–13.5) | 6.10 (4.40–7.10) | 10.4 (6.2–14.4) | 13.4 (8.08–27.2) | 0.029 |
| HOMA IR | 1.85 (1.26–3.12) | 1.28 (0.93–1.58) | 2.37 (1.36–3.14) | 2.86 (1.79–6.09) | 0.037 |
| CRP (mg/dL) | 0.12 (0.03–0.33) | 0.05 (0.01–0.29) | 0.11 (0.03–0.28) | 0.43 (0.07–0.96) | 0.105 |
| Creatinine (mg/dL) | 0.51 (0.49–0.56) | 0.52 (0.45–0.56) | 0.50 (0.48–0.56) | 0.52 (0.50–0.58) | 0.682 |
| Uric acid (mg/dL) | 5.20 (4.50–6.20) | 4.40 (3.70–5.40) | 5.25 (4.83–6.03) | 5.95 (5.20–6.55) | 0.062 |
| Lipids | |||||
| Triglycerides (mg/dL) | 81.0 (62.0–112) | 63.0 (41.0–66.0) | 91.0 (69.0–138.3) | 95.5 (66–133.75) | 0.040 |
| Total cholesterol (mg/dL) | 162 (142–177) | 159 (135–177) | 175 (144 -193) | 161 (134–179) | 0.769 |
| HDL-C (mg/dL) | 44.0 (35–53) | 53.0 (48.0–58.0) | 43.0 (34.3–49.0) | 38.0 (31.3–43.5) | 0.006 |
| LDL-C (mg/dL) | 97.5 (78.8–116) | 94.0 (70.0–112) | 101.5 (80.0 -125) | 102 (78.0–126) | 0.810 |
| TG to HDL ratio | 1.88 (1.31–2.80) | 1.18 (0.64–1.43) | 2.11 (1.45–4.04) | 2.35 (1.81–4.34) | 0.009 |
| Liver enzymes | |||||
| AST (UI/L) | 27.0 (22.0–29.0) | 27.0 (22.0–29.0) | 22.0 (19.3–27.0) | 30.0 (22.8–37.3) | 0.056 |
| ALT (UI/L) | 19.0 (15.0–35.0) | 19.0 (15.0–22.0) | 15.0 (14.0–16.8) | 35.0 (26.0–44.5) | 0.002 |
| GGT (UI/L) | 14.0 (12.0–15.0) | 12.0 (11.0–15.0) | 13.5 (12.0–14.75) | 14.5 (13.3–18.0) | 0.134 |
| Serum amino acids | |||||
| Leucine/Isoleucine (μM) | 59.9 (50.8–67.0) | 50.8 (47.7–55.5) | 62.1 (53.4–65.5) | 67.4 (61.7–75.1) | 0.009 |
| Valine (μM) | 69.7 (64.9–88.8) | 61.8 (57.9–66.9) | 72.5 (65.8–81.5) | 94.9 (70.0–98.3) | 0.005 |
| BCAA (μM) | 127.5 (112.6–160.1) | 111.4 (105.6–123.6) | 134.3 (122.2–145.7) | 164.5 (133.5–172.9) | 0.004 |
Data are shown as medians (interquartile range) or n (%). P-value was obtained using Kruskal–Wallis test or Fisher’s exact test for categorical variables. Significant P-values are shown in bold
BMI body mass index, HDL-C high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, LDL-C low-density lipoprotein cholesterol