title: The insulin gene variable number of tandemrepeats (INS VNTR)  genotype and sleep disordered breathing in childhood obesity.
abstract: Aim of our study is to verify the association between the genetic predisposition to hyperinsulinism due to the presence of the insulin gene (INS) I/I genotype and the development of sleep-related breathing disorders (SRBD) in obese children and adolescents. Two hundred and fifty-six obese children and adolescents (125 girls) have been investigated. As initial screening all subjects' mothers filled out the Sleep Disturbances Scale for Children (SDSC). The Sleep-Disordered Breathing (SDB) scale has been taken into account. Successively, a subgroup of 34 patients belonging to the first (14 children) and the last (20 children) SDB score quintiles underwent an overnight polysomnography and the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) was evaluated. All subjects were genotyped for the INS VNTR and fasting insulin levels were evaluated. The population was divided into two groups according to the genotype: the first group was comprehensive of patients homozygotes for class I allele and the second group was composed by class III allele heterozygotes and homozygotes patients. Subjects I/I showed statistically signifIcant higher insulin levels (p<0.001) and SDB scores (p<0.001). Moreover, in the subgroup of patients investigated with polysomnography, class I homozygous subjects showed higher AHI compared to those patients carrying class III allele (p<0.001). Our data support the hypothesis that INS VNTR is associated with the development of SDB among obese children and adolescents.
authors: clinic of Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy.
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Carotenuto
authors: N
authors: N
authors: Santoro
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Grandone
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Santoro
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Pascotto
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Pascotto
authors: L
authors: L
authors: Perrone
authors: E Miraglia
authors: EM
authors: del Giudice
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D018598:Minisatellite Repeats; D009765:Obesity / Q000235:genetics*; D017286:Polysomnography; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D007328:Insulin