Salivary Metabolic Hormones as Biomarkers of Childhood Obesity

Abstract

\n PurposeObesity is a major threat to the health and development of children. While hormones in serum samples have been extensively investigated in childhood obesity research, our study attempts to explore salivary metabolic hormones as biomarkers of childhood obesity.MethodsObese (n=83) and non-obese (n=83) school children aged 6-11 years were recruited as cases and controls, respectively, for this case-control study. Salivary concentrations of the hormones, Ghrelin, Leptin, Adiponectin and Insulin were assessed and compared between obese and non-obese children to evaluate their role in childhood obesity.Results The mean ghrelin (1.69 ± 0.38) and adiponectin (95627.56 ± 64915.04) levels of the non-obese children were higher than the mean values of the obese, while the mean values of the hormones leptin (265.95 ± 83.16) and insulin (224.56 ± 184.86) were found to be higher among the obese. Higher levels of the hormones insulin (OR: 1.09; 95% CI: 1.05-1.12) and leptin (OR: 1.03; 95% CI: 1.02-1.04) posed higher risks for childhood obesity, followed by adiponectin, which was found to be lower among the cases (OR: 0.99; 95% CI: 0.99995-0.99998) which increased the risk of childhood obesity.ConclusionThis study demonstrates the efficacy of saliva as a promising non-invasive tool in childhood obesity research and highlights the significance of appetite regulatory hormones as biomarkers of childhood obesity.Level of evidenceLevel III, Case-control study.