Adiposity trajectory and its associations with plasma adipokine levels in children and adolescents - A prospective cohort study

Objective This study aimed to examine the associations of longitudinal adiposity measures with two adipokines, leptin and adiponectin, and their ratio in children and adolescents. Methods A total of 953 children and adolescents participated in a 6-year longitudinal study. Body mass index (BMI), percentage body fat (%BF), and fat mass index (FMI) were used to assess adiposity status. Results After adjusting for possible confounders, our regression models revealed that BMI, %BF, and FMI, in both the baseline and follow-up surveys were independently associated with a higher level of leptin and the leptin/adiponectin ratio at the follow-up survey, whereas the significant association with adiponectin only partly existed in adiposity measures at the follow-up visit. Moreover, the longitudinal change in adiposity measures was found to be a significant predictor for follow-up plasma adipokine levels. Compared with the low→low group, the medium→medium group, up-trend group, and high→high group all showed a significantly increased level of leptin and leptin/adiponectin ratio. The up-trend group and high→high group also had significantly decreased adiponectin levels. Conclusions These findings highlight the importance of adiposity surveillance and the utility of adipokines as biomarkers for adverse metabolic consequences of childhood adiposity.