Serum concentrations of adiponectin and ultrasensitive C-REACTIVE PROTEIN in obese adolescents

Introduction: adiponectin is a cytokine secreted into the adipocytes, which produces an anti-inflammatory effect in metabolism. Objective: to determine the serum concentrations of adiponectin and ultrasensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) in adolescents and their relationship with anthropometric variables. Subjects and methods: This no experimental descriptive, cross-sectional study and non-experimental, in 250 obese adolescents and a control group, in the period from April 2020 to April 2021, Ambato-Ecuador. Anthropometric evaluation was performed with: weight, height, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC). Serum concentrations of adiponectin and hs-CRP were determined by ELISA. In the statistical analysis, the following were used: Student's t-test, Pearson's correlation and linear regression models, taking 95% as the statistical reliability index and p<0.05 as statistical significance. Results: obese male adolescents presented greater anthropometric and laboratory changes with a significant difference in weight: 76.73±8.4 kg, BMI 32.08±3.3 kg/m2 and WC: 101.7±4.6 cm, adiponectin concentrations with a significant negative correlation with BMI (r=-0.949, p<0.001) and WC (r=-0.958, p<0.001). Also, a significant positive correlation in the elevation of hs-CRP in relation to BMI (r=0.931, p <0.001) and WC (r=0.929, p<0.001). The linear regression model (R2) was 0.94, indicating that BMI and WC have a great effect on adiponectin and hs-CRP concentrations, contributing significantly (p=0.001) as predictors of serum concentrations. Conclusion: Hypoadiponectinemia and increased hs-CRP are metabolic biomarkers that correlate significantly with BMI and WC in obese adolescents.