Fetuin-A as an Alternative Marker for Insulin Resistance and Cardiovascular Risk in Prepubertal Children.
OBJECTIVE
Fetuin-A plays a role in insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease. This study aims to determine the relationship between fetuin-A levels and cardiometabolic risk factors, as well as to investigate the effect of serum fetuin-A on insulin resistance indices to determine whether fetuin-A is an additional marker for insulin resistance in prepubertal children.


METHODS
A total of 99 prepubertal Korean children (59 males) aged from 6.0 to 10.0 years was included in this study. Subjects were divided into underweight/normal-weight and overweight/obese groups. Serum fetuin-A levels were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and were natural logarithm (ln)-transformed.


RESULTS
Serum fetuin-A concentrations were significantly elevated in overweight/obese children as compared with underweight/normal-weight children (P=0.029). Ln serum fetuin-A was significantly positively correlated with body mass index (BMI) standard deviation scores (SDSs) (r=0.239, P=0.017), triglyceride levels (r=0.285, P=0.004), ln insulin (r=0.377, P＜0.001), systolic blood pressure (BP) (r=0.274, P=0.006), and diastolic BP (r=0.304, P=0.006) and was significantly inversely correlated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels (r=-0.236, P=0.019). In univariate linear regression analysis, ln fetuin-A was significantly positively associated with the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (r=0.356, P＜0.001) and significantly inversely associated with the quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI) (r=-0.309, P=0.002). Following adjustment for age, gender, BMI, and lipid profiles in multivariate linear regression analysis, fetuin-A was significantly positively associated with HOMA-IR (P=0.048) and marginally inversely associated with QUICKI (P=0.054).


CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest that fetuin-A can be an alternative marker for insulin resistance and cardiovascular risk in prepubertal children.
Department of Pediatrics, Hallym University, College of Medicine.
Young Suk
YS
Shim
Department of Pediatrics, Hallym University, College of Medicine.
Min Jae
MJ
Kang
Department of Pediatrics, Hallym University, College of Medicine.
Yeon Jeong
YJ
Oh
Department of Pediatrics, Hallym University, College of Medicine.
Joon Woo
JW
Baek
Department of Pediatrics, Hallym University, College of Medicine.
Seung
S
Yang
Department of Pediatrics, Hallym University, College of Medicine.
Il Tae
IT
Hwang
D000886:Anthropometry; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000097:blood*; D002648:Child; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009765:Obesity; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000097:blood; D056910:Republic of Korea; D012307:Risk Factors; D060749:alpha-2-HS-Glycoprotein / Q000032:analysis*
C556354:AHSG protein, human; D015415:Biomarkers; D060749:alpha-2-HS-Glycoprotein
Cardiovascular risk; Children; Fetuin-A; Insulin resistance; Obesity