Circulating chemerin and interleukin-6 in children with obesity: possible metabolic risk predictors

Background: As the incidence of childhood obesity has risen significantly and it can result in many complications in adulthood, this study aimed to provide a new view for early prevention of childhood obesity by detecting the levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and chemerin in children and studying the clinical significance.

Methods: We used a case-control design. Serum chemerin and IL-6 levels were measured among 101 participants, including 50 children with obesity and 51 healthy children. Chemerin and IL-6 were correlated with metabolic parameters, and the independent determinants of chemerin and IL-6 were studied by using multivariate linear regression analysis.

Results: The levels of chemerin, IL-6, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), Fins, C-peptide, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), uric acid and creatinine were significantly increased in children with obesity (P<0.05). While, the levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in the obese group were remarkably lower (P<0.05). The correlative analysis showed that serum chemerin and IL-6 were positively correlated with BMI, Fins, C-peptide, HOMA-IR, and AST, and chemerin was also positively correlated with systolic blood pressure, ALT, and IL-6 (P<0.05). Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that IL-6 was the independent determinant of chemerin.

Conclusions: The elevated levels of serum chemerin and IL-6 in children with obesity were positively correlated with multiple metabolic indicators, suggesting that chemerin and IL-6 may be involved in the occurrence of childhood obesity and its complications, and were expected to become early warning metabolic risk predictors.