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Objective: To investigate possible correlations between apelin-12 levels and obesity in children in China and associations between apelin-12 and obesity-related markers, including lipids, insulin sensitivity and insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR)., Methods: Forty-eight obese and forty non-obese age- and gender-matched Chinese children were enrolled between June 2008 and June 2009. Mean age was 10.42 ± 2.03 and 10.86±2.23 years in obesity and control groups, respectively. Main outcome measures were apelin-12, BMI, lipids, glucose and insulin. HOMA-IR was calculated for all subjects., Results: All obesity group subjects had significantly higher total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), insulin levels and HOMA-IR (all P<0.05). In separate analyses, obese girls had significantly higher LDL-C, insulin and HOMA-IR than controls, and obese boys had significantly higher TC, TG, insulin and HOMA-IR than controls (all P<0.05). Apelin-12 levels were significantly higher in obese girls compared to controls (P = 0.024), and correlated positively with TG in all obese subjects. Among obese girls, apelin-12 levels correlated positively with TG, insulin and HOMA-IR after adjusting for age and BMI. In all boys (obese and controls) apelin-12 was positively associated with fasting plasma glucose (FPG). No significant correlations were found in either group between apelin-12 levels and other characteristics after adjusting for age, sex, and BMI., Conclusions: Apelin-12 levels are significantly higher in obese vs. non-obese girls in China and correlate significantly with obesity-related markers insulin, HOMA-IR, and TG. Increased apelin-12 levels may be involved in the pathological mechanism of childhood obesity.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate serum chemerin concentrations in obese children and adolescents and to investigate the associations of chemerin with body mass index (BMI), lipid levels, and insulin sensitivity. Methods: Forty-eight obese and 40 nonobese Chinese children and adolescents were included in the study. BMI and levels of chemerin, lipids, glucose, and insulin were measured following an overnight fast. The Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) and BMI standard deviation score (BMI-SDS) were determined for all participants. Results: Serum chemerin levels were found to be significantly higher in obese children and adolescents than in control group members (94.83 ± 5.99 ng/mL vs 56.43 ± 4.16 ng/mL, P <.001). There were significant correlations between chemerin and age, BMI, BMI-SDS, total triglyceride (TG) levels, insulin levels, and HOMA-IR. After controlling for age, we found that chemerin levels were also significantly correlated with BMI-SDS (r =+ 0.284, P =.008) and HOMA-IR (r =+ 0.241, P =.034). In a stepwise multiple regression analysis, we observed only BMI-SDS to be an important determinant of chemerin level. Conclusions: In our sample of Chinese children and adolescents, chemerin levels were significantly higher in the obese group than in the control group. Chemerin levels were positively correlated with BMI-SDS and HOMA-IR and negatively correlated with age. We thus believe that further study is necessary to investigate the risk of metabolic abnormalities in young obese children and adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]