Serum Neopterin Is Not Increased in Obese Juveniles
Table 1
Characteristics of the study subjects.
Variable
Controls ()
Obese adolescents ()
Age (Years)
12.9 ± 2.7 (4–18)
12.4 ± 2.9 (4–18)
Body Length (m)
1.56 ± 0.14
1.56 ± 0.14
Body Weight (kg)
47.2 ± 13.4
74.5 ± 24.2**
BMI (kg/m²)
18.7 (16.9–20.4)
28.9 (26.2–32.4)+++
BMI-SDS
0.21 (−0.7–0.8)
5.4 (4.0–7.2)+++
Carotid IMT (cm)
0.052 ± 0.009
0.070 ± 0.09***
Neopterin (nmol/L)
5.3 ± 1.9
4.9 ± 1.8*
C-Reactive protein (mg/dl)
0.26 (0.17–0.84)
1.9 (0.9–3.8)+++
HDL-cholesterol (mg/dl)
48.4 ± 12.0
41.9 ± 11.2***
Oxidized LDL (mg/dl)
35.1 ± 15.3
44.3 ± 16.9***
Insulin (uE/ml)
7.9 (5.1–12.7)
15.4 (8.8–29.1)+++
HOMA-IR
1.7 (1.0–2.7)
3.5 (1.8–6.9)+++
Resistin (ng/ml)
3.7 ± 1.5
4.3 ± 1.6**
SBP (mmHg)
115 ± 4.9
125 ± 15.5***
DBP (mmHg)
63.1 ± 9
68 ± 8.8***
Results are expressed as mean ± S.D. analysed by Student’s -test (*, **, ***) or as median (25th–75th percentile) and Mann Whitney test (+, ++, +++ depending on the distribution of data. BMI, body mass index; BMI-SDS, BMI-standard deviation score; HOMA-IR, homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance; SBP, systolic blood pressure; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; carotid IMT, carotid intima-media thickness.
