title: Usefulness of soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) as an inflammatory biomarker in obese children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) has emerged as a relatively new biomarker that reflects increased inflammatory status and been associated with cardiovascular risk. We wanted to investigate the predictive value and usefulness of suPAR as an inflammatory biomarker in obese children.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the total 136 participants, 76 (36 male, 40 female) were in obese group and 60 (24 male, 36 female) were in control group. The median age was 12.05 (6.16-17.30) years old for obese group, and 12.83 (8.00-16.75) years old for control group. Obese children had statistically significantly higher heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, EAT and LV mass than control group (p<0.01). The median suPAR level in obese group was not statistically different than in control group (0.54 vs. 0.59, p=0.26). The median hsCRP level in obese group was found statistically significantly higher than in control group (1.97 vs. 0.41, p<0.01). A significant positive correlation between hsCRP and BMI in the obese participants was found (r=0.45, p<0.01), but not a relationship between suPAR and BMI (r=-0.21, p>0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our research did not demonstrate the usefulness of suPAR as an inflammatory biomarker and a predictive value for future atherosclerosis in obese children. Further studies with larger sample size are required to determine whether suPAR is useful as an inflammatory biomarker in childhood obesity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Cardiology, School of Medicine, Sakarya University, Sakarya, Turkey. Electronic address: mustafakosecik@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kosecik
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Cardiology, School of Medicine, Sakarya University, Sakarya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Pinar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dervisoglu
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Medicine, Sakarya University, Sakarya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Koroglu
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, School of Medicine, Sakarya University, Sakarya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Pinar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Isguven
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Sakarya University, Sakarya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Bahri
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Elmas
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Medicine, Sakarya University, Sakarya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Tayfur
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Demiray
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Medicine, Sakarya University, Sakarya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Altindis
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000209:etiology; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D055293:Receptors, Urokinase Plasminogen Activator / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D055293:Receptors, Urokinase Plasminogen Activator; D002097:C-Reactive Protein
keywords: Biomarkers; Children; Inflammation; Obesity; suPAR