Background and aim: Adequate serum vitamin D levels correlate with a more favorable lipid profile compared to deficient levels. Despite the well-established prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in children with obesity, studies investigating its influence on lipid profiles in this population are scarce. We explored the impact of vitamin D status on lipid profiles and markers of atherogenic dyslipidemia in a cohort of children and adolescents with obesity.
Methods and results: A total of 271 Caucasian children and adolescents with overweight/obesity and a control group of 54 pediatric patients with normal weight. All participants underwent outpatient visits for the assessment of clinical parameters and venous blood collection for biochemical analysis such as triglycerides (TG)/HDL-C ratio, LDL-C/HDL-C ratio, atherogenic index of plasma AIP), vitamin D level. Individuals with obesity displayed severe vitamin D deficiency (25-OH-D ≤10 ng/ml) at a higher frequency compared to those with normal weight (p = 0.03). In patients with overweight/obesity and low 25-OH-D levels show higher values of glycemia (p = 0.001), insulin resistance (HOMA-IR and TRYG p < 0.001), TG (p < 0.001), TG/HDL-C (p = 0.001), AIP (p < 0.001), SBP (p = 0.01), and DBP (p = 0.04). In normal-weight individuals with low 25-OH- D levels an increased values of glycemia (p = 0.01), insulin resistance (HOMA-IR p = 0.01 and TRYG p = 0.002), TG (p = 0.01), TG/HDL-C (p = 0.02), AIP (p = 0.01). A direct correlation between 25-OH-D levels and metabolic parameters is observed.
Conclusions: A correlation between vitamin D levels and the lipid/atherosclerotic profile was recorded. Vitamin D deficiency may represent a preventable and easily treatable cardiometabolic risk factor, emphasizing the importance of early intervention and preventive measures.
Keywords: Atherogenic dyslipidemia; Children; Lipid profile; Pediatric obesity; Vitamin D.
Copyright © 2024 The Italian Diabetes Society, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.