TABLE 1.
Characteristics of the study population
| Bonferroni post hoc p value | Overall p value | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NW (n = 21) | OW (n = 14) | OB (n = 85) | NW vs. OW | NW vs. OB | OW vs. OB | All children | |
| Physical and clinical characteristics | |||||||
| Sex (M/F) | 13/8 | 4/10 | 50/35 | 0.829 | 0.054 | 0.032 | 0.085 |
| Age (y) | 11.9 ± 4.0 | 13.1 ± 3.0 | 13.0 ± 2.9 | 0.766 | 0.368 | 0.983 | 0.288 |
| Weight (kg) | 45.4 ± 19.1 | 61.7 ± 13.4 | 87.9 ± 26.5 | 0.04 | <0.001 | 0.001 | <0.001 |
| Height (m) | 1.50 ± 0.21 | 1.57 ± 0.12 | 1.60 ± 0.15 | 0.720 | 0.060 | 0.857 | 0.065 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 18.9 ± 3.5 | 24.7 ± 2.8 | 33.8 ± 6.4 | 0.012 | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | <0.001 |
| Percentile | 54.9 ± 19.8 | 92.0 ± 1.6 | 98.5 ± 1.1 a | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | 0.045 | <0.0001 |
| Body fat (%) | 7.3 ± 6.0 | 18.4 ± 6.7 | 32.8 ± 13.0 | 0.018 | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Metabolic and hormonal markers | |||||||
| Cholesterol (mmol/L) | 3.9 ± 0.5 | 4.3 ± 0.6 | 4.3 ± 0.7 | 0.507 | 0.170 | 1.000 | 0.150 |
| HDL (mmol/L) | 1.48 ± 0.27 | 1.35 ± 0.24 | 1.20 ± 0.45 | 0.453 | 0.016 | 0.709 | 0.017 |
| LDL (mmol/L) | 2.20 ± 0.49 | 2.60 ± 0.61 | 2.65 ± 0.72 | 0.286 | 0.022 | 1.000 | 0.026 |
| TGL (mmol/L) | 0.65 ± 0.30 | 0.92 ± 0.45 | 1.00 ± 0.43 | 0.172 | 0.002 | 1.000 | 0.003 |
| GLU (mmol/L) | 4.8 ± 0.4 | 5.4 ± 1.7 | 5.1 ± 0.4 | 0.040 | 0.463 | 0.240 | 0.046 |
| Total protein (mmol/L) | 72.7 ± 3.5 | 74.4 ± 3.4 | 74.3 ± 3.3 | 0.588 | 0.282 | 1.000 | 0.221 |
| Albumin (mmol/L) | 41.7 ± 3.2 | 41.8 ± 3.2 | 40.7 ± 2.8 | 1.000 | 0.600 | 0.728 | 0.283 |
| Total bilirubin (mmol/L) | 10.4 ± 5.8 | 10.8 ± 3.9 | 8.1 ± 2.9 | 1.000 | 0.078 | 0.086 | 0.017 |
| ALT (mmol/L) | 26.1 ± 6.8 | 23.1 ± 6.6 | 37.2 ± 22.3 | 0.240 | 0.080 | 0.060 | 0.014 |
| AST (mmol/L) | 27.5 ± 7.2 | 21.0 ± 5.8 | 25.2 ± 8.8 | 0.011 | 0.901 | 0.328 | 0.111 |
| Alkaline phosphatase (mmol/L) | 161.8 ± 78.1 | 170.7 ± 115.3 | 169.7 ± 77.4 | 0.807 | 0.702 | 0.977 | 0.931 |
| GGT (mmol/L) | 21.0 ± 4.4 | 25.5 ± 8.5 | 30.5 ± 17.5 | 0.168 | 0.085 | 0.500 | 0.182 |
| HbA1c (%) | 5.2 ± 0.3 | 5.56 ± 1.7 | 5.62 ± 2.3 | 0.443 | 0.141 | 0.932 | 0.712 |
| Insulin (mIU/L) | 5.5 ± 3.0 | 9.3 ± 3.9 | 18.2 ± 13.7 | 0.003 | <0.001 | 0.037 | <0.001 |
| HOMA‐IR | 1.23 ± 0.74 | 1.95 ± 0.75 | 4.32 ± 3.42 | 0.016 | <0.001 | 0.014 | <0.001 |
| Adiponectin (µg/mL) | 9.8 ± 1.4 | 8.9 ± 1.4 | 8.1 ± 2.0 | 0.065 | 0.001 | 0.411 | 0.001 |
| TNFα (ng/mL) | 4.3 ± 12.8 | 32.8 ± 8.8 | 35.0 ± 33.0 | 0.014 | <0.001 | 1.000 | <0.001 |
| Other markers | |||||||
| Leptin (ng/mL) | 7.5 ± 2.6 | 13.3 ± 7.0 | 16.1 ± 7.5 | 0.049 | <0.001 | 0.466 | <0.001 |
| C‐pep (ng/mL) | 0.26 ± 0.17 | 0.18 ± 0.08 | 0.27 ± 1.06 | 0.120 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 0.787 |
| Glucagon (ng/mL) | 3.59 ± 1.53 | 1.92 ± 1.20 | 2.35 ± 0.98 | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.576 | <0.001 |
| NGAL (ng/mL) | 22.9 ± 6.1 | 35.7 ± 15.1 | 33.5 ± 13.9 | 0.018 | 0.005 | 1.000 | 0.004 |
| RBP4 (µg/mL) | 20.2 ± 5.5 | 55.30 ± 25.1 | 63.76 ± 103.2 | 0.011 | 0.152 | 1.000 | 0.147 |
| sICAM‐1 (ng/mL) | 128.3 ± 78.8 | 255.2 ± 199.4 | 217.3 ± 252.2 | 0.015 | 0.019 | 1.000 | 0.204 |
| ZAG (µg/mL) | 1.6 ± 0.2 | 4.9 ± 0.6 | 3.3 ± 2.0 | <0.001 | 0.001 | 0.005 | <0.001 |
| Resistin (ng/mL) | 4.9 ± 2.7 | 4.6 ± 1.4 | 5.4 ± 2.2 | 0.706 | 0.507 | 0.280 | 0.487 |
Note: Data are presented as mean ± SD. One‐way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni post hoc test.
Abbreviations: ALT, alanine transaminase; AST, aspartate transaminase; C‐pep, connecting peptide; F, female; GGT, gamma‐glutamyltransferase; GLU, fasting plasma glucose; HbA1c, hemoglobin A1c; HDL, high‐density lipoprotein; HOMA‐IR, homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance; LDL, low‐density lipoprotein; M, male; NGAL, neutrophil gelatinase‐associated lipocalin; NW, normal weight; OB, obesity; OW, overweight; TGL, triglyceride; TNFα, tumor necrosis factor alpha; RBP4, retinol‐binding protein 4; sICAM‐1, soluble intercellular adhesion molecule‐1; ZAG, zinc‐alpha‐2‐glycoprotein.
Only percentiles between 95 and 99 were included for the children with obesity.