Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown on Metabolic/Inflammatory Profile in Adolescents: Cellular Studies and Predictive Biomarkers

Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown on Metabolic/Inflammatory Profile in Adolescents: Cellular Studies and Predictive Biomarkers

CONTEXT

The COVID-19 pandemic and its lockdown restrictions changed people's lifestyles with potential negative impact on health.

OBJECTIVE

This longitudinal study aimed to assess the COVID-19 lockdown influence on the adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) pattern and its effects on the metabolic inflammatory profile in a cohort of healthy adolescents.

METHODS

We analyzed anthropometric measurements, body composition, and MD adherence along with serum metabolic and inflammatory profile in 77 healthy adolescents from southern Italy before and after the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Additionally, we evaluated the biological properties of prelockdown and postlockdown serum on human HepG2 and HuH-7 hepatic cells.

RESULTS

We did not observe any significant differences in anthropometric and body composition parameters as well as MD adherence score in adolescents between prelockdown and postlockdown COVID-19. Intriguingly, although the metabolic profile of adolescents postlockdown was within the normal range, we evidenced increased levels of fasting glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) along with a reduction in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in postlockdown compared with prelockdown adolescent serum. In addition, elevated levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin-1β, and ferritin were found in postlockdown adolescents compared with their prelockdown counterparts. Consistent with the biochemical parameters, we observed enhanced lipid accumulation with altered mitochondrial functions and increased reactive oxygen species production in HepG2 and HuH-7 cells treated with pooled serum from postlockdown with respect to prelockdown period. Receiver operator characteristic curve analysis identified total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, TNF-α, and ferritin to be predictive serum markers for metabolic and inflammatory profiling after the lockdown period.

CONCLUSION

Our findings highlight that the COVID-19 lockdown, forcing sedentary behavior, had a negative impact on adolescents' metabolic and inflammatory profile which may result in long-term poor health outcomes.

Association between Skin Carotenoid Score Measured with Veggie Meter® and Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet among Adolescents from Southern Italy

The Veggie Meter® (Longevity Link Corporation, Salt Lake City, UT, USA), is a new portable device for the non-invasive and rapid detection of skin carotenoid content, which represents an acceptable biomarker for the evaluation of fruit and vegetable (FV) intake. FVs are important components of a healthy diet, including the Mediterranean Diet (MD), which is a plant-based dietary pattern. Here, we evaluated the adherence to the MD via the administration of two online food questionnaires, and we measured the skin carotenoid content using the Veggie Meter® in a cohort of 498 healthy adolescents (233 males and 265 females) from Southern Italy. Using KIDMED and the MD Pyramid tests to assess the adherence to the MD, we found an average adherence (5.43 ± 2.57 and 7.20 ± 1.93, respectively) to the MD in our sample population. Moreover, we observed that the skin carotenoid score was 364.75 ± 98.29, which was within the normal range and inversely related to the BMI (r = -0.1461, p = 0.0011). Similar results were observed when the population was categorized by sex. Interestingly, we demonstrated, for the first time, a positive correlation between the carotenoid score and the adherence to the MD assessed using both the KIDMED and MD Pyramid tests in the total population (r = -0.2926, p < 0.0001 and r = -0.1882, p < 0.0001, respectively). The same direct correlation was found in adolescents according to their sex. Our findings highlight the potential of the Veggie Meter® as a feasible and promising tool for evaluating adherence to the MD and, ultimately, to promote healthy eating habits among adolescents.