Department of Health, Kinesiology, and Applied Physiology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Metabolism, Obesity, and Nutrition Lab, PERFORM Centre, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Int J Obes (Lond). 2022 Oct;46(10):1859-1866. doi: 10.1038/s41366-022-01192-2. Epub 2022 Aug 4.
The timing of obesity onset and age have been shown to affect the risk of obesity-related comorbidities, although the impact of each of these factors on markers of adipose tissue function remains unclear.
The aim of this study was to determine whether differences in regional adipose tissue characteristics vary with age and age of obesity onset, and whether these differences are associated with the markers of cardiometabolic health.
Adipose tissue samples were obtained from 80 female bariatric surgery candidates who were classified by age of obesity onset and age into 4 groups: (1) younger adults (<40 y) with childhood-onset obesity (<18 y) (Child-Young); (2) younger adults with adulthood-onset obesity (>18 y) (Adult-Young); (3) older adults (>55 y) with childhood-onset obesity (Child-Old); and (4) older adults with adulthood-onset obesity (Adult-Old). Adipocyte diameter, adipose tissue fibrosis, and macrophage infiltration were determined in subcutaneous (SAT) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT). Clinical parameters were obtained from participants' medical records.
Visceral adipocyte size in the Child-Young group was the smallest of all the groups. Age affected visceral infiltration of M1-like cells with greater percent of M1-like cells in the Adult-Old and Child-Old groups. Though not significant, a stepwise increase in M2-like macrophages in VAT was observed with Adult-Young having the smallest followed by Adult-Old, Child-Young, and Child-Old having the greatest percent of M2-like macrophages. Pericellular fibrosis accumulation in SAT and VAT varied with both age and onset, particularly in the Child-Old group, which had the lowest fibrosis levels. Markers of cardiometabolic health (fasting glucose, glycated hemoglobin, total, HDL- and LDL-cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations) were positively and well-associated with adipose tissue characteristics of the Child-Old group but not of the Adult-Young group.
Older adults with childhood-onset obesity, who had the greatest duration of obesity exposure, were particularly vulnerable to the cardiometabolic effects associated with perturbations in adipose tissue characteristics. These results suggest that age and age of obesity onset may have independent and cumulative effects on obesity pathology.
肥胖的发病时间和年龄已被证明会影响肥胖相关合并症的风险，尽管这些因素中的每一个对脂肪组织功能的标志物的影响仍不清楚。
本研究旨在确定区域脂肪组织特征的差异是否随年龄和肥胖发病年龄而变化，以及这些差异是否与心血管代谢健康的标志物有关。
从 80 名接受减肥手术的女性候选者中获得脂肪组织样本，这些候选者根据肥胖发病年龄和年龄分为 4 组：（1）<40 岁的年轻人（<18 岁），肥胖发病年龄为儿童期（Child-Young）；（2）>18 岁的年轻人，肥胖发病年龄为成年期（Adult-Young）；（3）>55 岁的老年人，肥胖发病年龄为儿童期（Child-Old）；（4）>55 岁的成年人，肥胖发病年龄为成年期（Adult-Old）。在皮下脂肪组织（SAT）和内脏脂肪组织（VAT）中确定脂肪细胞直径、脂肪组织纤维化和巨噬细胞浸润。临床参数从参与者的病历中获得。
Child-Young 组的内脏脂肪细胞大小是所有组中最小的。年龄影响成年晚期和儿童晚期的内脏 M1 样细胞浸润，成年晚期和儿童晚期的 M1 样细胞百分比较大。尽管不显著，但 VAT 中的 M2 样巨噬细胞逐渐增加，Adult-Young 组最小，然后是 Adult-Old、Child-Young 和 Child-Old 组，M2 样巨噬细胞百分比最大。SAT 和 VAT 中细胞周围纤维化的积累与年龄和发病均有关，尤其是在 Child-Old 组，其纤维化水平最低。心血管代谢健康的标志物（空腹血糖、糖化血红蛋白、总胆固醇、高密度脂蛋白胆固醇和低密度脂蛋白胆固醇及甘油三酯浓度）与 Child-Old 组的脂肪组织特征呈正相关且高度相关，但与 Adult-Young 组无相关性。
肥胖发病年龄为儿童期的老年肥胖患者，肥胖暴露时间最长，特别容易受到与脂肪组织特征紊乱相关的心血管代谢效应的影响。这些结果表明，年龄和肥胖发病年龄可能对肥胖病理有独立和累积的影响。
