Elevated visfatin levels in overweight and obese children and adolescents with metabolic syndrome

AbstractObjective: Adipokines have been implicated in the pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and insulin resistance. We investigated the association between these conditions and serum levels of visfatin, adiponectin and leptin. Material and methods: 175 overweight and obese boys and girls aged 3–17 years. MetS was defined as presence of at least three of the following: triglycerides ≥ 1.24 mmol/L, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ≤ 1.03 mmol/L, fasting glucose ≥ 6.1 mmol/L, elevated waist circumference and systolic or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 90th percentile. Results: After adjustment for age and gender visfatin levels were significantly higher (median 19.0 [25th, 75th percentiles 11.9 , 37.1] vs. 15.2 [11.6 , 21.1] ng/ml; padjusted = 0.02) in subjects with MetS (n = 41) compared to subjects without (n = 134). There were no significant differences in adiponectin or leptin levels between the two groups after adjustment for age and gender. Visfatin levels increased proportionally with number of...