title: High leptin/adiponectin ratio and serum triglycerides are associated with an "at-risk" phenotype in young severely obese patients.
abstract: "At-risk" severely obese subjects are characterized by insulin resistance, and higher visceral fat and plasma lipid levels compared with metabolically healthy obese (MHO) subjects, although both groups have a high BMI and fat mass. The aim of this study was to measure several serum adipokines and gastrointestinal hormones in a young severely obese population from Southern Italy to identify biochemical markers of the "at-risk" insulin-resistant obese profile. We studied 160 unrelated white young adults (mean age = 25.2 years, mean BMI = 44.9 kg/m(2), 65% women) affected by obesity for at least 5 years. Serum concentrations of glucagon, ghrelin, gastric inhibitory peptide, glucagon like peptide-1, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor α, leptin, adiponectin, adipsin, and visfatin were measured. The leptin/adiponectin (L/A) ratio and fatty liver index (FLI) were calculated. We found a prevalence of 21.3% of MHO patients in our young severely obese patients. At univariate analysis, the "at-risk" group had higher mean levels of BMI (P < 0.0001), leptin (P = 0.039, men) and the L/A ratio (P = 0.003), and lower mean levels of visfatin (P = 0.026) than the MHO group. The L/A ratio, serum triglycerides, and male sex were significantly associated with "at-risk" obesity and accounted for 19.5% of insulin resistance at multivariate analysis. In conclusion, we demonstrate that a high serum L/A ratio and high levels of serum triglycerides may be markers of "at-risk" obesity, independent of waist circumference (WC) and BMI, in young severely obese population.
authors.affiliation: Fondazione IRCCS SDN-Istituto di Ricerca Diagnostica e Nucleare, Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Labruna
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pasanisi
authors.forename: Carmela
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nardelli
authors.forename: Rosanna
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Caso
authors.forename: Dino F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Vitale
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Contaldo
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sacchetti
mesh_terms: D052242:Adiponectin / Q000097:blood; D000328:Adult; D000465:Algorithms; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D015228:Hypertriglyceridemia / Q000209:etiology*; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D054409:Nicotinamide Phosphoribosyltransferase / Q000097:blood; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000097:blood* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C499918:ADIPOQ protein, human; D052242:Adiponectin; D015415:Biomarkers; D016207:Cytokines; D020738:Leptin; D054409:Nicotinamide Phosphoribosyltransferase; C085455:nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase, human