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Volume 9
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10.3390/children9020291
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Article

Stress, Inflammation and Metabolic Biomarkers Are Associated with Body Composition Measures in Lean, Overweight, and Obese Children and Adolescents †

by
Eirini V. Christaki
1,*,
Panagiota Pervanidou
1,2,
Ioannis Papassotiriou
3,
Despoina Bastaki
2,
Eleni Valavani
2,
Aimilia Mantzou
1,
Giorgos Giannakakis
4,5,
Dario Boschiero
6 and
George P. Chrousos
1,2,7
1
Childhood Obesity Clinic, First Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, “Aghia Sophia” Children’s Hospital, 11527 Athens, Greece
2
Unit of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, First Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, “Aghia Sophia” Children’s Hospital, 11527 Athens, Greece
3
Department of Clinical Biochemistry, “Aghia Sophia” Children’s Hospital, 11527 Athens, Greece
4
Computational Biomedicine Laboratory, Institute of Computer Science, Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH), 70013 Heraklion, Greece
5
Institute of AgriFood and Life Sciences, University Research Centre, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 71410 Heraklion, Greece
6
BioTekna Co., 30020 Venice, Italy
7
University Research Institute of Maternal and Child Health and Precision Medicine and UNESCO Chair on Adolescent Health Care, 11527 Athens, Greece
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
This is part of the Ph.D. thesis of Eirini Christaki in Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.
Children 2022, 9(2), 291; https://doi.org/10.3390/children9020291
Submission received: 14 January 2022 / Revised: 12 February 2022 / Accepted: 16 February 2022 / Published: 21 February 2022
(This article belongs to the Section Global Pediatric Health)
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Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the associations between multiple indices of stress, inflammation and metabolism vs. body composition parameters in 121 (43 boys, 78 girls) children and adolescents, aged 5–15 y. Subjects were divided into two groups: normal weight (N) (N = 40, BMI z-score = −0.1923 ± 0.6), and overweight/obese (OB) (N = 81, BMI z-score = 2.1947 ± 1.4). All subjects completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC) and Children’s Depression Inventory, and underwent cortisol measurements in hair, diurnal series of saliva, and morning serum. Circulating concentrations of high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and other inflammation biomarkers were also obtained. Body composition analysis was performed with a clinically validated, advanced bioimpedance apparatus (BIA), while heart rate variability (HRV) was measured as a stress biomarker by photoplethysmography (PPG). The OB group had a higher STAIC-state score, waist-to-hip ratio, skeletal muscle mass, and total and abdominal fat mass, and a lower percent fat-free mass (FFM) and bone density than the N group. HRV did not differ between the groups. In the entire population, percent fat mass correlated strongly with circulating hsCRP (r = 0.397, p = 0.001), ferritin, and other inflammatory biomarkers, as well as with indices of insulin resistance. A strong correlation between serum hsCRP and hair cortisol was also observed (r = 0.777, p < 0.001), suggesting interrelation of chronic stress and inflammation. Thus, body fat accumulation in children and adolescents was associated with an elevation in clinical and laboratory biomarkers of stress, inflammation, and insulin resistance. BIA-ACC and PPG can be utilized as a direct screening tool for assessing overweight- and obesity -related health risks in children and adolescents.
Keywords: stress; childhood obesity; inflammation; body composition; bioimpedance; heart rate variability stress; childhood obesity; inflammation; body composition; bioimpedance; heart rate variability

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MDPI and ACS Style

Christaki, E.V.; Pervanidou, P.; Papassotiriou, I.; Bastaki, D.; Valavani, E.; Mantzou, A.; Giannakakis, G.; Boschiero, D.; Chrousos, G.P. Stress, Inflammation and Metabolic Biomarkers Are Associated with Body Composition Measures in Lean, Overweight, and Obese Children and Adolescents. Children 2022, 9, 291. https://doi.org/10.3390/children9020291

AMA Style

Christaki EV, Pervanidou P, Papassotiriou I, Bastaki D, Valavani E, Mantzou A, Giannakakis G, Boschiero D, Chrousos GP. Stress, Inflammation and Metabolic Biomarkers Are Associated with Body Composition Measures in Lean, Overweight, and Obese Children and Adolescents. Children. 2022; 9(2):291. https://doi.org/10.3390/children9020291

Chicago/Turabian Style

Christaki, Eirini V., Panagiota Pervanidou, Ioannis Papassotiriou, Despoina Bastaki, Eleni Valavani, Aimilia Mantzou, Giorgos Giannakakis, Dario Boschiero, and George P. Chrousos. 2022. "Stress, Inflammation and Metabolic Biomarkers Are Associated with Body Composition Measures in Lean, Overweight, and Obese Children and Adolescents" Children 9, no. 2: 291. https://doi.org/10.3390/children9020291

APA Style

Christaki, E. V., Pervanidou, P., Papassotiriou, I., Bastaki, D., Valavani, E., Mantzou, A., Giannakakis, G., Boschiero, D., & Chrousos, G. P. (2022). Stress, Inflammation and Metabolic Biomarkers Are Associated with Body Composition Measures in Lean, Overweight, and Obese Children and Adolescents. Children, 9(2), 291. https://doi.org/10.3390/children9020291

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