Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2006 Nov;26(11):2541-6.
doi: 10.1161/01.ATV.0000245795.08139.70. Epub 2006 Sep 14.

A proinflammatory state is detectable in obese children and is accompanied by functional and morphological vascular changes

Stylianos Kapiotis  1 , Gregor Holzer, Georg Schaller, Markus Haumer, Harald Widhalm, Daniel Weghuber, Bernd Jilma, Georg Röggla, Michael Wolzt, Kurt Widhalm, Oswald F Wagner
Affiliations

A proinflammatory state is detectable in obese children and is accompanied by functional and morphological vascular changes

Stylianos Kapiotis et al. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2006 Nov.

Abstract

Background: Obesity is generally accepted as a risk factor for premature atherosclerosis. Subclinical inflammation as quantified by blood levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) contributes to the development and progression of atherosclerosis. We hypothesized that inflammation in obese children is related to functional and early morphological vascular changes.

Methods and results: Blood levels of high sensitivity (hs) CRP, hsIL-6, the soluble intercellular adhesion molecule1 (ICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1, and E-selectin were measured in 145 severely obese (body mass index [BMI], 32.2+/-5.8 kg/m2) and 54 lean (BMI, 18.9+/-3.2 kg/m2) children 12+/-4 years old. Flow-mediated dilation (FMD) of the brachial artery and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) measured by high-resolution ultrasound as markers of early vascular changes were assessed in 92 (77 obese and 15 lean) and 59 (50 obese and 9 lean) children, respectively. Obese children had significantly higher levels of hsCRP, hsIL-6, and E-selectin than healthy controls (4.1+/-4.8 versus 0.9+/-1.5 mg/L, P<0.001 for hsCRP; 1.99+/-1.30 versus 1.42+/-1.01 pg/mL, P=0.05 for hsIL-6; and 78+/-38 versus 59+/-29 ng/mL, P=0.01 for E-selectin). There were no differences in the levels of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 between groups. Obese children had lower peak FMD response (7.70+/-6.14 versus 11.06+/-3.07%, P=0.006) and increased IMT (0.37+/-0.04 versus 0.34+/-0.03 mm, P=0.03) compared with controls. Morbidly obese children (n=14, BMI 44.1+/-3.9 kg/m2) had highest levels of hsCRP (8.7+/-0.7 mg/L), hsIL-6 (3.32+/-1.1 pg/mL), and E-selectin (83+/-40 ng/mL).

Conclusions: A proinflammatory state is detectable in obese children, which is accompanied by impaired vascular endothelial function and early structural changes of arteries, even in young subjects at risk. It remains to be determined whether high hsCRP in obese children predicts cardiovascular events.

PubMed Disclaimer

MeSH terms