The Impact of Obesity on the Excretion of Steroid Metabolites in Boys and Girls: A Comparison with Normal-Weight Children
Obesity in childhood is associated with several steroid changes, which result from excess body mass. The aim of this study was to evaluate steroid metabolism in children with obesity compared with those with normal weight, especially in relation to sex and puberty progress. We analyzed the clinical...
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MDPI AG
2023-04-01
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| author | Marta Sumińska Rafał Podgórski Piotr Fichna Artur Mazur Marta Fichna |
| author_facet | Marta Sumińska Rafał Podgórski Piotr Fichna Artur Mazur Marta Fichna |
| author_sort | Marta Sumińska |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Obesity in childhood is associated with several steroid changes, which result from excess body mass. The aim of this study was to evaluate steroid metabolism in children with obesity compared with those with normal weight, especially in relation to sex and puberty progress. We analyzed the clinical data of 191 children, aged between 5 and 18 years, with 115 affected (64 girls and 51 boys) and 76 unaffected (35 girls and 41 boys) by obesity. Routine clinical assessment and pubertal stage evaluation based upon Tanner’s scale were performed. In addition, to evaluate the impact of puberty, children with pre-adolescence and advanced puberty were divided into separate subgroups. Then, 24 h urine steroid excretion profiles were analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Significant differences in the excretion of steroid metabolites were found between normal weight children and children with obesity, especially in the prepubertal cohort. In this group, we observed enhanced activity in all the pathways of adrenal steroidogenesis. Raised excretion of mineralocorticoid derivatives such as tetrahydro-11-deoxycorticosterone, tetrahydrocorticosterone, and 5α-tetrahydrocorticosterone supported increased activity of this track. No significant differences were detected in the excreted free forms of cortisol and cortisone, while the excretion of their characteristic tetrahydro-derivatives was different. In pre-adolescent children with obesity, α-cortol and especially α-cortolone appeared to be excreted more abundantly than β-cortol or β-cortolone. Furthermore, in children with obesity, we observed elevated androgen excretion with an enhanced backdoor pathway. As puberty progressed, remarkable reduction in the differences between adolescents with and without obesity was demonstrated. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:28:13Z |
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| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:28:13Z |
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| series | Nutrients |
| spelling | doaj.art-daadc8d2513747398d7fc321f392fe9a2023-11-17T17:21:16ZengMDPI AGNutrients2072-66432023-04-01157173410.3390/nu15071734The Impact of Obesity on the Excretion of Steroid Metabolites in Boys and Girls: A Comparison with Normal-Weight ChildrenMarta Sumińska0Rafał Podgórski1Piotr Fichna2Artur Mazur3Marta Fichna4Department of Pediatric Diabetes, Auxology and Obesity, Institute of Pediatrics, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 60-572 Poznan, PolandCentre for Innovative Research in Medical and Natural Sciences, University of Rzeszow, 35-310 Rzeszow, PolandDepartment of Pediatric Diabetes, Auxology and Obesity, Institute of Pediatrics, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 60-572 Poznan, PolandDepartment of Pediatrics, Childhood Endocrinology and Diabetes, Collegium of Medical Sciences, University of Rzeszow, 35-959 Rzeszow, PolandDepartment of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Internal Medicine, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 60-355 Poznan, PolandObesity in childhood is associated with several steroid changes, which result from excess body mass. The aim of this study was to evaluate steroid metabolism in children with obesity compared with those with normal weight, especially in relation to sex and puberty progress. We analyzed the clinical data of 191 children, aged between 5 and 18 years, with 115 affected (64 girls and 51 boys) and 76 unaffected (35 girls and 41 boys) by obesity. Routine clinical assessment and pubertal stage evaluation based upon Tanner’s scale were performed. In addition, to evaluate the impact of puberty, children with pre-adolescence and advanced puberty were divided into separate subgroups. Then, 24 h urine steroid excretion profiles were analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Significant differences in the excretion of steroid metabolites were found between normal weight children and children with obesity, especially in the prepubertal cohort. In this group, we observed enhanced activity in all the pathways of adrenal steroidogenesis. Raised excretion of mineralocorticoid derivatives such as tetrahydro-11-deoxycorticosterone, tetrahydrocorticosterone, and 5α-tetrahydrocorticosterone supported increased activity of this track. No significant differences were detected in the excreted free forms of cortisol and cortisone, while the excretion of their characteristic tetrahydro-derivatives was different. In pre-adolescent children with obesity, α-cortol and especially α-cortolone appeared to be excreted more abundantly than β-cortol or β-cortolone. Furthermore, in children with obesity, we observed elevated androgen excretion with an enhanced backdoor pathway. As puberty progressed, remarkable reduction in the differences between adolescents with and without obesity was demonstrated.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/15/7/1734obesitynutritionurinary steroid metabolitesbiomarkerschildhoodadolescence |
| spellingShingle | Marta Sumińska Rafał Podgórski Piotr Fichna Artur Mazur Marta Fichna The Impact of Obesity on the Excretion of Steroid Metabolites in Boys and Girls: A Comparison with Normal-Weight Children Nutrients obesity nutrition urinary steroid metabolites biomarkers childhood adolescence |
| title | The Impact of Obesity on the Excretion of Steroid Metabolites in Boys and Girls: A Comparison with Normal-Weight Children |
| title_full | The Impact of Obesity on the Excretion of Steroid Metabolites in Boys and Girls: A Comparison with Normal-Weight Children |
| title_fullStr | The Impact of Obesity on the Excretion of Steroid Metabolites in Boys and Girls: A Comparison with Normal-Weight Children |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Impact of Obesity on the Excretion of Steroid Metabolites in Boys and Girls: A Comparison with Normal-Weight Children |
| title_short | The Impact of Obesity on the Excretion of Steroid Metabolites in Boys and Girls: A Comparison with Normal-Weight Children |
| title_sort | impact of obesity on the excretion of steroid metabolites in boys and girls a comparison with normal weight children |
| topic | obesity nutrition urinary steroid metabolites biomarkers childhood adolescence |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/15/7/1734 |
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