ABSTRACT Objective To compare
serum amyloid A concentrations between
overweight and eutrophic
children and
adolescents and to relate it to
lipid profiles,
glucose tolerance, and
carotid intima-media thickness.
Methods One hundred
children and
adolescents (mean age 10.8±3.16 years) were included and divided into two groups
overweight and non-
overweight. The following were evaluated Z-score
body mass index,
carotid intima-media thickness,
lipid metabolism biomarkers (
lipid profile and
apolipoproteins A1 and B), inflammatory
biomarkers (ultra-sensitive
C-reactive protein and
serum amyloid A), and
glucose homeostasis model assessment of
insulin resistance. Results The groups were homogeneous in age,
sex, and pubertal stage. Higher levels of
triglycerides,
apolipoprotein B,
homeostasis model assessment of
insulin resistance, ultrasensitive
C-reactive protein,
serum amyloid A, and
carotid intima-media thickness were observed in the
overweight group. In the
multivariate analysis, age (OR=1.73; 95%CI 1.16-2.60, p=0.007), Z-score
body mass index (OR=3.76; 95%CI 1.64-8.59, p=0.002),
apolipoprotein-B (OR=1.1; 95%CI 1.01-1.2, p=0.030), and
carotid intima-media thickness (OR=5.00; 95%CI 1.38-18.04, p=0.014) were independently associated with
serum amyloid A levels above the fourth quartile of the studied sample (>9.4mg/dL). Conclusion
Overweight children and
adolescents had higher
serum amyloid A concentrations than eutrophic
children. There was an independent
association between higher concentrations of
serum amyloid A and Z-score,
body mass index,
apolipoprotein B, and
carotid intima-media thickness, indicating the importance of this inflammatory
biomarker in identifying the early
risk of
atherosclerosis.