ESPE Abstracts

Introduction: There is a close relationship between cardiovascular disease and diet. While cardiometabolic risk has been demonstrated in adolescents with obesity, there is little information on the advanced lipoprotein profile (ALP) in adolescents with anorexia nervosa and low body weight.

Objective: To evaluate the metabolomic-nutritional and cardiac profile in three groups of adolescents: 1. anorexia nervosa and low body weight (AN), 2. adolescents with normal weight, and 3. patients with obesity.

Methodology: A prospective multicenter observational study (HM Nens, Vall d'Hebron, and Sant Joan Reus) was conducted, including three groups of adolescents aged between 10 (> Tanner II) and 17 years of age of both sexes. Echocardiography was performed in all participants, and ALP profile and low molecular weight metabolites were determined by magnetic resonance imaging. The variables between the three groups were compared using the corresponding analyses.

Results: Preliminary results are presented from 13 adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN) and low weight (age: 12 ± 9 years, BMI=15.7 ± 1.4 kg/m2), 25 adolescents with normal weight (age: 14 ± 1.5 years, BMI=19.6 ± 2.4 kg/m2), and 41 patients with morbid obesity (age: 14 ± 1.5 years, BMI=37.8 ± 5.2 kg/m2). In the AN group, a significant decrease was observed compared to the obese group in all VLDL-P particle sizes (P <0.005), while medium-HDL particles were increased (P <0.005). Adolescents with AN also have a significant decrease in heart rate and left ventricular mass (P <0.001), without affecting diastolic or systolic function. A significant decrease in the precursors of cellular metabolic pathways is also observed in patients with AN compared to the normal-weight and obese population.

Conclusions: The results suggest that adolescents with AN have a cardioprotective lipoprotein profile but a marked deficit of Krebs cycle precursors and brain neurotransmitters compared to adolescents with normal weight and obesity.