Preliminary evidence of glycine as a biomarker of cardiovascular disease risk in children with obesity

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-1-2023

Subject Area

Adult; Female; Humans; Male; Child; Adolescent; Cardiovascular Diseases (epidemiology); Adiponectin; Interleukin-6; Obesity (complications, epidemiology, metabolism); Insulin Resistance; Biomarkers

Abstract

Glycine (GLY) is a substrate for a wide range of metabolic processes. Several preclinical and adult studies demonstrated inverse associations of GLY with obesity, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes. However, little evidence is available on relationships between GLY and CVD risk in children. We assessed links between circulating GLY and biomarkers of CVD in children with obesity. Participants included both male and females with normal weight (NW, n = 6) and obesity (OB, n = 15), with age 14-18 years and Tanner stage >IV. Concentrations of GLY, branched chain amino acids (BCAA), and 25-hydroxy vitamin-D [25(OH)D], glucose, insulin, adiponectin, high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were measured using established techniques, and body composition by DXA. Homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was calculated. Our study identified major relationships of GLY (p-value < 0.01 for all) of GLY with visceral fat (r = 0.40), BCAA (r = 0.44), HOMA-IR (r = 0.33), 25(OH)D (r = 0.48), IL-6 (r = 0.46) and adiponectin (r = 0.39). Given that CVD progression is a continuum and the disease itself is not present in children and biomarkers are typically used to monitor CVD in children, the links between GLY and biomarkers of CVD provide evidence for the first time of a potential role for GLY in CVD in children with obesity.

Publication Title

International journal of obesity (2005)

Volume

47

Issue

10

First Page

1023

Last Page

1026

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1038/s41366-023-01354-w

PubMed ID

37516817

E-ISSN

1476-5497

Language

eng

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