RESUMEN
Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is associated with obesity and may be involved in its aetiology, but few studies have focused on children and most have been cross-sectional. We assessed the relation of LTL with adiposity development in a prospective study of Colombian children. We quantified LTL at enrollment in 722 children aged 5-12 years and measured anthropometry annually for a median 6 years. Using mixed effects models, we estimated changes in adiposity measures including BMI and waist circumference (WC)-for-age z-scores in relation to baseline LTL z-score. In girls, longer LTL was linearly related to a lower increase in WC z-score from age 6 to 16 years. Every 1 SD LTL was associated with an adjusted 0.13 units lower increase in WC (95% CI: -0.23, -0.03; p = 0.01). In conclusion, longer LTL among girls in middle childhood is associated with smaller increases in WC, an indicator of abdominal adiposity.
Asunto(s)
Adiposidad , Obesidad , Telómero , Adiposidad/genética , Adolescente , Niño , Preescolar , Colombia , Estudios Transversales , Femenino , Humanos , Leucocitos , Masculino , Modelos Biológicos , Obesidad/genética , Estudios Prospectivos , Factores Sexuales , Telómero/genética , Circunferencia de la Cintura/genéticaRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) have been related to the development of adiposity. N-3 PUFA appears to be protective against obesity risk, while n-6 PUFA may be associated with greater adiposity. However, most studies have been conducted among adults. The role of PUFA in infancy is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To examine associations of serum PUFA at age 1 year with age- and sex-adjusted body mass index Z score (BMIZ) change through age 16 years and body composition at 16 years. METHODS: We quantified serum PUFA in 636 Chilean infants aged 1 year. We measured BMIZ at ages 1, 5, 10 and 16 years, and body composition by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry at 16 years. We estimated differences in 1- to 16-years BMIZ change between PUFA quartiles from multivariable linear mixed models with restricted cubic splines. At 16 years, we estimated differences in total fat mass (ToFM), truncal fat mass (TrFM), total lean mass (TLM), percent total fat mass (%ToFM) and percent truncal fat mass (%TrFM) between PUFA quartiles using linear regression. RESULTS: PUFA were not associated with BMIZ change. Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) was positively associated with TrFM (P = .03) and %TrFM (P < .0001) at 16 years while eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) was inversely associated with %TrFM (P = .001). Docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) was positively associated with ToFM (P = .01), TrFM (P = .009), %ToFM (P = .02) and %TrFM (P = .02). Gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) and the Δ6-desaturase (D6D) activity index were each positively, linearly associated with ToFM, TrFM and %ToFM. The Δ5-desaturase (D5D) activity index was inversely associated with %TrFM (P = .04). CONCLUSIONS: ALA, DPA, GLA and the D6D index at 1 year of age were positively associated with adiposity at age 16 years, while EPA and the D5D index were inversely associated with central adiposity. Our results related to EPA and desaturase indices are in agreement with limited prior studies.
Asunto(s)
Composición Corporal/fisiología , Ácidos Grasos Insaturados/sangre , Absorciometría de Fotón , Adiposidad , Adolescente , Índice de Masa Corporal , Niño , Preescolar , Chile , Ácido Eicosapentaenoico/sangre , Femenino , Humanos , Lactante , Masculino , Ácido alfa-Linolénico/sangreRESUMEN
PURPOSE: Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is a biomarker of inflammation and oxidative stress that predicts chronic disease risk. Nutritional factors are related to LTL in adulthood, but these associations are not well characterized in children. We examined whether micronutrient status biomarkers were associated with LTL in school-age children. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 330 boys and 393 girls aged 5-12 years from Bogotá, Colombia. We quantified blood concentrations of hemoglobin, ferritin, zinc, vitamin A, folate, and vitamin B-12; and measured LTL using qPCR in DNA extracted from buffy coat. We estimated mean differences in LTL by quartiles of micronutrient status biomarkers and categories of relevant sociodemographic and anthropometric covariates with the use of linear regression. RESULTS: In girls, plasma vitamin B-12 was positively associated with LTL (adjusted LTL difference between extreme vitamin B-12 quartiles = 0.11; P, trend = 0.02). LTL was also positively associated with birth order in girls (P, trend = 0.02). In boys, LTL was not related to the micronutrient status biomarkers but, unexpectedly, it was positively associated with birth weight (P = 0.02), height-for-age Z score (P, trend = 0.01), and serum C-reactive protein (P, trend = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: LTL is associated with vitamin B-12 status among girls. LTL is also associated with birth weight, height, and C-reactive protein in boys.
Asunto(s)
Leucocitos , Micronutrientes/sangre , Encuestas Nutricionales/métodos , Encuestas Nutricionales/estadística & datos numéricos , Telómero , Biomarcadores/sangre , Niño , Preescolar , Colombia , Estudios Transversales , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Factores SexualesRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) status in childhood may be associated with adiposity development. OBJECTIVE: To assess associations of serum PUFA biomarkers in childhood with change in body mass index (BMI)-for-age Z scores (BMIZ) through adolescence. METHODS: We quantified serum PUFA at ages 5 and 10 years among 418 children from Santiago, Chile. BMI was measured at 5, 10, and 16 years. We compared BMIZ change through age 16 years between quartiles of PUFA at 5 and 10 years and PUFA change 5-10 years by fitting growth curves from mixed effects models. RESULTS: At age 5 years, serum docosahexaenoic acid was inversely associated with BMIZ change from ages 5 to 16 years. At age 10 years, arachidonic acid (AA) was nonlinearly positively related to BMIZ change from ages 10 to 16 years. Change in AA and the Δ5-desaturase (D5D) activity index between 5 and 10 years were each positively associated with BMIZ change from ages 10 to 16 years. Change in eicosapentaenoic acid was inversely associated with change in BMIZ. CONCLUSIONS: Serum long-chain n-3 PUFA in middle childhood were associated with less BMI gain through adolescence, whereas AA and D5D activity was related to greater BMI gain.
Asunto(s)
Índice de Masa Corporal , Ácidos Grasos Insaturados/sangre , Adolescente , Factores de Edad , Ácido Araquidónico/sangre , Niño , Chile , delta-5 Desaturasa de Ácido Graso , Ácidos Docosahexaenoicos/sangre , Ácido Graso Desaturasas/sangre , Femenino , Humanos , Estudios Longitudinales , MasculinoRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) intake is low throughout Latin America. Improving PUFA status could be an effective intervention against chronic disease, but information on sociodemographic and dietary patterning of PUFA status in the region is limited. OBJECTIVE: To characterize sociodemographic, anthropometric, and dietary predictors of PUFA status biomarkers in adipose tissue among children and their parents from Mesoamerica. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study of 220 children aged 7 to 12 years and 471 parents from capital cities of Guatemala, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Costa Rica, and Belize, as well as Tuxtla Gutiérrez in Mexico. The PUFA from gluteal adipose tissue was quantified using gas chromatography. Participants reported sociodemographic information and the type of vegetable oil used for cooking. We estimated percent mean differences in linoleic acid (LA), total long-chain n-6 PUFA (n-6 LCPUFA), α-linolenic acid (ALA), and total long-chain n-3 PUFA (n-3 LCPUFA) between levels of predictors using multivariable-adjusted linear regression models. RESULTS: Country was the strongest predictor of any PUFA, whereas body mass index was positively associated with n-6 LCPUFA in children and adults. Cooking primarily with soybean oil was positively associated with LA in children and adults and ALA in adults. Cooking with canola oil was positively related to n-6 LCPUFA in adults and n-3 LCPUFA in children and adults. Cooking with palm oil was associated with low adipose tissue levels of all n-6 and n-3 PUFA. CONCLUSIONS: Adipose tissue PUFA status in Mesoamerica is associated with country of origin and the type of oil used for cooking.
Asunto(s)
Tejido Adiposo/química , Dieta/estadística & datos numéricos , Grasas de la Dieta/análisis , Ácidos Grasos Insaturados/análisis , Adulto , América Central/epidemiología , Niño , Culinaria/métodos , Estudios Transversales , Grasas Insaturadas en la Dieta/análisis , Femenino , Humanos , Indígenas Centroamericanos/estadística & datos numéricos , Masculino , PadresRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: Telomere length is a biomarker of cumulative stress and inflammation related to chronic disease risk. We examined the associations of leukocyte telomere length (LTL) with sociodemographic and anthropometric variables and estimated LTL family aggregation in Central America, a region with a high burden of chronic disease where LTL has not been studied. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 174 school age children and their parents in the capital cities of Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and the city of Tuxtla-Gutierrez in Mexico. We measured LTL by quantitative PCR in DNA extracted from whole blood. We compared the distribution of LTL by categories of sociodemographic and anthropometric characteristics using linear regression. Family aggregation was estimated with correlation coefficients and intraclass correlations. RESULTS: In mothers, LTL was inversely associated with age (P, trend < .0001) and positively associated with height (P = .0002). Among fathers, LTL was inversely associated with food insecurity (P, trend = .0004). In children, boys had 0.10 log units shorter LTL than girls (95% CI: -0.17, -0.03; P = .004). LTL was inversely associated with parental education (P, trend = .01) and positively associated with paternal age at birth (P, trend < .0001), maternal LTL (P, trend = .007), and paternal LTL (P, trend = .02). LTL varied significantly by country of origin among all family members. Aggregation was greatest between children and their mothers, and mostly occurred at the country, rather than family, level. CONCLUSION: LTL is associated with age and height in women; food insecurity in men; and sex, parental education, parental LTL, and paternal age at birth among children.