Metabolic Abnormalities in a Cohort of Overweight and Obese Children in an Urban Setting of Sri Lanka

Studies in children with obesity in two European treatment centres show a high prevalence of impaired glucose metabolism in the Swedish cohort

AIM

To investigate the prevalence and possible risk factors for the development of impaired glucose metabolism in children and adolescents with obesity.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional retrospective cohort study, including 634 patients with obesity and 98 normal weight controls aged 4-18 years from the Beta-cell function in Juvenile Diabetes and Obesity (Beta-JUDO) cohort, a dual-centre study at Uppsala University Hospital (Sweden) and Paracelsus Medical University Hospital (Salzburg, Austria) conducted between 2012 and 2021. A longitudinal subgroup analysis, including 188 of these subjects was performed. Impaired glucose metabolism was diagnosed by oral glucose tolerance tests according to American Diabetes Association criteria.

RESULTS

The prevalence of impaired glucose metabolism was 72% in Uppsala patients, 24% in Salzburg patients, 30% in Uppsala controls and 13% in Salzburg controls. The prevalence was lower at the follow-up visits compared with baseline both in Uppsala and Salzburg patients. A family history of type 2 diabetes showed the strongest association with impaired glucose metabolism at the follow-up visits besides belonging to the Uppsala cohort.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of impaired glucose metabolism was extraordinarily high in Swedish children and adolescents with obesity, but decreased during the follow-up period.

Sex Differences in the Association Between AST/ALT and Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes in Japanese Patients with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Retrospective Cohort Study

OBJECTIVES/INTRODUCTION

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the association between Aspartate Transaminase (AST)/Alanine transaminase(ALT) and type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) patients and to determine whether there were sex differences.

METHODS

In the retrospective study, we collected data on NAFLD patients (1, 896 men and 465 women) at Murakami Memorial Hospital from 2004 to 2015. Data were stratified by sex to investigate the association between AST/ALT and T2DM incidence by sex. Multiple regression analysis, smooth curve fitting model and subgroup analysis were used to determine the correlation, non-linear relationship and threshold effect between AST/ALT and T2DM.

RESULTS

In our study, 157 men and 40 women developed T2DM at follow-up. After adjusting for risk factors, AST/ALT was significantly associated with T2DM in men with NAFLD but not in women with NAFLD. The risk of T2DM increased as the AST/ALT ratio decreased. Besides, in male NAFLD patients, AST/ALT showed a non-linear relationship with T2DM, with an inflection point value of 0.964. When the AST to ALT ratio was below the threshold (AST/ALT <0.964), AST/ALT was significantly negatively associated with T2DM (HR = 0.177, 95% CI 0.055-0.568; P = 0.0036). In contrast, when AST/ALT >0.964, no significant association was found (HR = 3.174, 95% CI 0.345-29.167; P = 0.3074). Moreover, subgroup analysis showed that GGT could alter the relationship between AST/ALT and T2DM. In the group with GGT ≤ 40, AST/ALT was strongly associated with T2DM (HR = 0.24, 95% CI 0.09-0.66; P = 0.0059).

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggested that there were sex differences in the association between AST/ALT and T2DM in NAFLD participants. A non-linear association between AST/ALT and T2DM was observed in males. AST/ALT in the normal GGT group (GGT ≤40) might better facilitate the early screening of T2DM.

Body mass index and implications for pediatric kidney health: a cross-sectional study with urinary biomarkers

BACKGROUND

Extremes of unhealthy body weight, particularly obesity, are known to increase the risk of chronic kidney diseases. However, the current knowledge of kidney health outcomes associated with unhealthy body weight remains incomprehensive, especially in pediatrics. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate body mass index (BMI) and its potential associations with kidney health in a selected subset of school students in Sri Lanka.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted among students of both sexes in the range of 11-18 years of age (N = 1078) in education zones with no reported cases of chronic kidney disease of uncertain etiology. Based on sex- and age-specific BMI percentiles (LMS method), the participants were classified into five BMI groups (severely thin, thin, healthy, overweight, and obese) for measurement of urinary biomarkers of kidney injury: kidney injury molecule (KIM-1), neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), and albumin creatinine ratio (ACR).

RESULTS

The median urinary levels of NGAL, ACR, and particularly KIM-1, which is a more sensitive indicator of kidney injury, showed no significant differences across the BMI strata. Importantly, moderate correlations of BMI with KIM-1 and NGAL were identified in severely thin girls.

CONCLUSIONS

According to the present study, these findings do not produce plausibly strong evidence to establish a potential association of BMI with altered kidney function in the studied pediatric communities. Particularly, a likelihood of abnormal kidney health outcomes associated with undernutrition is apparent in severely thin girls. However, in-depth studies are warranted to develop a comprehensive understanding of the associations of nutritional status with pediatric kidney health in Sri Lanka. A higher resolution version of the Graphical abstract is available as Supplementary information.

Multi-omics approach to socioeconomic disparity in metabolic syndrome reveals roles of diet and microbiome

The epidemy of metabolic syndrome (MetS) is typically preceded by adoption of a "risky" lifestyle (e.g., dietary habit) among populations. Evidence shows that those with low socioeconomic status (SES) are at an increased risk for MetS. To investigate this, we recruited 123 obese subjects (body mass index [BMI] ≥ 30) from Chicago. Multi-omic data were collected to interrogate fecal microbiota, systemic markers of inflammation and immune activation, plasma metabolites, and plasma glycans. Intestinal permeability was measured using the sugar permeability testing. Our results suggest a heterogenous metabolic dysregulation among obese populations who are at risk of MetS. Systemic inflammation, linked to poor diet, intestinal microbiome dysbiosis, and gut barrier dysfunction may explain the development of MetS in these individuals. Our analysis revealed 37 key features associated with increased numbers of MetS features. These features were used to construct a composite metabolic-inflammatory (MI) score that was able to predict progression of MetS among at-risk individuals. The MI score was correlated with several markers of poor diet quality as well as lower levels of gut microbial diversity and abnormalities in several species of bacteria. This study reveals novel targets to reduce the burden of MetS and suggests access to healthy food options as a practical intervention.

Association between ALT/AST and Muscle Mass in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Objective

The alanine aminotransferase/aspartate aminotransferase (ALT/AST) ratio is thought to be related to metabolic disorders and insulin resistance. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a high-risk population for low muscle mass. This study was performed to evaluate the association between ALT/AST and muscle mass in subjects with T2DM.

Method

This cross-sectional study enrolled 1068 subjects (566 males and 502 females) with T2DM. General information, medical history, and blood samples were collected. Skeletal muscle index (SMI) was detected using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Logistic regression analysis was utilized to determine the correlation of ALT/AST and low muscle mass in subjects with T2DM. Multiple linear regression analysis was utilized to evaluate the association between ALT/AST, SMI and other metabolic characteristics.

Result

Of all subjects, 115 men (20.3%) and 71 women (14.1%) presented low muscle mass. ALT/AST was related to an increased risk for low muscle mass in both genders. Multiple linear regression analysis displayed that SMI was negatively associated with ALT/AST, age, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) in male group. While in female group, SMI was positively associated with systolic blood pressure (SBP) and negatively associated with ALT/AST and age. Furthermore, ALT/AST was associated with age and BMI in both genders.

Conclusion

ALT/AST was negatively associated with muscle mass in subjects with T2DM.

ALT/AST as an Independent Risk Factor of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Compared with TG/HDL-C

Objective

This study aimed to find the association between alanine transaminase-to-aspartate aminotransferase ratio (ALT/AST) and the incidence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).

Methods

A total of 1128 pregnant women were included in this prospective, double-center, observational cohort study. ALT, AST and total bilirubin (TBil) were tested during 6–12 weeks of gestation and 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was conducted during 24–28 weeks of gestation to screen GDM. The association between ALT/AST and glucose concentration during OGTT was analyzed by linear regression model. The OR with 95% CI for incidence of GDM associated with ALT/AST was estimated by binary logistic regression. The discriminatory values of ALT/AST and triglyceride/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (TG/HDL-C) for GDM were calculated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC-AUC).

Results

The incidence of GDM was 22.07% (249/1128). ALT/AST was higher in GDM group than in NGT group (0.92 [0.75, 1.18] vs 0.80[0.65, 1.02], P <0.001). ALT/AST had positive correlations with fasting blood glucose, 1-hour and 2-hour blood glucose concentration during OGTT (0.089 [95% CI: 0.034, 0.163], 0.176 [95% CI: 0.052, 0.104], and 0.115 [95% CI: 0.199, 0.609], respectively). The OR of ALT/AST for incidence of GDM was 1.603 (95% CI:1.097, 2.344). The ROC-AUC of ALT/AST and TG/HDL-C reached 0.615 (95% CI: 0.575, 0.655) and 0.619 (95% CI: 0.580, 0.659), respectively.

Conclusion

ALT/AST in early pregnancy was an independent risk factor of GDM. The predictive ability of ALT/AST was similar to TG/HDL-C for GDM.

The Predictive Ability of Hepatic Steatosis Index for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus and Large for Gestational Age Infant Compared with Other Noninvasive Indices Among Chinese Pregnancies: A Preliminary Double-center Cohort Study

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the association of hepatic steatosis index (HSI) in the first trimester and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) as well as large for gestational age (LGA) infant in Chinese women.

METHODS

A total of 1082 pregnant women were included in this study. Maternal basic laboratory data, including ALT, AST, FBG, insulin, TG, and HDL-C, were tested during 6-12 weeks of gestation and anthropometric characteristics were monitored during gestation. A 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was conducted at 24-28 weeks of gestation. HSI, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) liver fat score, triglyceride/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (TG/HDL-C) and triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index were calculated. Odds ratio with 95% confidence interval for subsequent risk of GDM and LGA by HSI quartiles were assessed by binary logistic regression model. The predictive ability of HSI for GDM and LGA was evaluated by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and was compared with other indices.

RESULTS

The incidence of GDM and LGA were 22.09% (239/1082) and 10.53% (87/826). HSI was higher in GDM group than in NGT group (median, interquartile range: 30.67, 27.20-35.10 vs 27.98, 25.70-30.82, P<0.001). Incidence of GDM was gradually increased with increasing HSI values. Women in the highest HSI quartile had significantly higher risk of LGA delivery than those in the lowest HSI quartile (P<0.05). The area under the ROC curves of HSI for GDM and LGA were higher than other indices, reaching 0.646 (95%CI: 0.605-0.686) and 0.600 (95%CI: 0.541-0.660), respectively.

CONCLUSION

Higher HSI was independently associated with higher risk of GDM and LGA in Chinese women. HSI in the first trimester can predict the risk of GDM and LGA.