ESPE Abstracts

Background: Serum FGF-21 levels are increased in adults with obesity, type 2 diabetes and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Serum FGF-21 levels have been implicated as a potential biomarker for early detection of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and type 2 diabetes in adults. However, there are only a few studies about the correlation between FGF-21 levels and metabolic parameters in children.

Aims and objective: This study is aimed to evaluate the relationship between serum FGF-21 and metabolic parameters in obese children.

Method: Our subjects included 37 lean and 78 obese children and adolescents aged 8–15 years. We analyzed fasting serum FGF-21, adiponectin by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and also fasting insulin, glucose, transaminases, lipids profile were measured. Independent t-test and univariate correlation analysis were used to evaluate the relationship between FGF-21 and other clinical and metabolic parameters.

Results: Serum FGF-21 levels were significantly increased in the obese children compared to those of normal-weight children. Obese children also demonstarated significantly increased insulin, total cholesterol, LDL-C, alanine transaminase (ALT). Serum adiponectin and HDL-C were significantly decreased in obese children than in controls. Serum FGF21 levels were positively correlated with insulin (r=0.326, P<0.001), triglycerides (r=0.444, P<0.001) and ALT (r=0.273, P=0.003). But serum FGF21 levels were negatively correlated with HDL-C (r=−0.334, P<0.001).

Conclusions: Serum FGF-21 was higher in obese children and significantly correlated with metabolic parameters. Our results suggest that FGF-21 may be potentially used as early biomarker for obese children with metabolic disorders.