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. 2024 Jan 25:14:1326851.
doi: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1326851. eCollection 2023.

The association of serum irisin with anthropometric, metabolic, and bone parameters in obese children and adolescents

Affiliations

The association of serum irisin with anthropometric, metabolic, and bone parameters in obese children and adolescents

Shin-Hee Kim et al. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). .

Abstract

Background: Irisin is an adipomyokine secreted by muscle and adipose cells, and it plays a role in glucose, fat, and bone metabolism. This study aimed to determine the correlation of serum irisin levels with anthropometric, metabolic, and bone parameters in obese children and adolescents.

Methods: This single-center study included 103 Korean children and adolescents: 54 (52.4%) obese participants with a body mass index (BMI) ≥95th percentile and 49 (47.6%) healthy controls with BMI within the 15th to 85th percentile. Various parameters were measured, including fasting blood glucose, fasting insulin, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), triglyceride and glucose (TyG) index, lipid profile, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), osteocalcin, and 25(OH)-Vitamin D levels. Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) in 33 healthy subjects.

Results: Serum irisin was significantly higher in the obese group than in the control group (mean 18.1 ± 3.5 vs. 16.2 ± 2.0 ng/mL; p = 0.001). Serum irisin level was positively correlated with chronological age (r = 0.28; p = 0.004), height SDS (r = 0.24; p = 0.02), BMI SDS (r = 0.37; p < 0. 001), fasting glucose (r = 0.27; p = 0.007), fasting insulin (r = 0.23; p = 0.03), HOMA-IR (r = 0.21; p = 0.04), osteocalcin (r = 0.27; p = 0.006) and negatively correlated with HDL cholesterol (r = -0.29; p = 0.005). All these correlations were evident in obese subjects but not in healthy subjects. ALP and 25(OH)-Vitamin D were unrelated to irisin levels. Among 33 healthy subjects, total body-less head (TBLH) BMD Z-score was positively correlated with serum irisin (r = 0.39; p = 0.03), osteocalcin (r = 0.40; p = 0.02), fasting insulin (r = 0.39; p = 0.04), and HOMA-IR (r = 0.38; p = 0.047).

Conclusion: This study demonstrated an association between irisin levels and glucose, lipid, and bone parameters in children and adolescents. Our findings suggest that irisin has a potential role in metabolic disorders and bone health in obese children and adolescents.

Keywords: bone mineral density; children; insulin resistance; irisin; obesity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Serum irisin levels according to the pubertal stage in male and female subjects. The box and whisker plots indicate the median (horizontal line in the box), 25th percentile (bottom line of the box), 75th percentile (top line of the box), and 5th and 95th percentiles (whiskers). The black cross and dots indicate the mean and outliers, respectively.

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