ESPE Abstracts

Background: The relationship of obesity and emotional disorders is confirmed in many studies. It is known that one of the substances responsible for the emotional status is dopamine.

Objective: To study the features of neuroendocrine status in obese children.

Methods: We examined 285 children (206 obese, age 14.56±2 years, BMI 32.86±5.1 kg/m²; 79 normal weight (control), 14.51±2.2 years (P=0.95), 19.9±2.5 kg/m² (P=0.0001)), observed in the Endocrinology Department of University clinic (Minsk) in 2013–2014. Obese children were divided into subgroups: simple (14.35±2 years, BMI <35 kg/m²) and morbid obesity (15.6±1.6 years, >35 kg/m²)). The levels of dopamine (D), neuropeptide Y (HY), leptin, insulin were examined in all children. Results were processed using SPSS 18.0.

Results: Obese children showed a significant D increase compared with control (median (Me) simple 12.1 (4.2–50.2) ng/ml, Me morbid obesity 61.1 (10.8–163.7) ng/ml, and Me control 5.96 (3.1–16) ng/ml) ((ps-c=0.012), (pm-c=0.0001), and (pm-s=0.009)). The positive correlation with D and BMI were observed in all obese children (rs=0.36; P=0.044). Leptin levels in children with morbid (Me 24.4 (10.7–58.6) ng/ml) and simple (Me 18.7 (8–37.3) ng/ml) obesity were significantly higher than control (Me 4.46 (1.4–18.4) ng/ml) (ps-c=0.0001), (pm-c=0.0001), and (pm-s=0.0001). Leptin levels were positively correlated with insulin concentrations (rs=0.3; P=0.0001) and BMI (rs=0.56; P=0.0001). The reduced levels of NY were noticed in children with morbid (Me 80.7 (61.4–116.2) pmol/ml) and simple (Me 89.6 (56.9–124.8) pmol/ml) obesity compared with control (Me 108.4 (75.7–143.9) pmol/ml) (pm-c=0.0001), (ps-c=0.0001), and (ps-m=0.1). There were negative correlation between NY and BMI (rs =−0.18; P=0.022) in children with different forms of obesity compared with control.

Conclusions: Obese children had higher levels of dopamine and leptin with the reduction of NY concentrations. Increased dopamine levels revealed the violation of its binding to dopamine receptors and greater risk of developing emotional disorders in children with different forms of obesity.