Department of Ultrasound, Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210008, China.
Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210008, China.
Sci Rep. 2024 May 13;14(1):10859. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-61437-0.
Vitamin A plays a pivotal role in health, particularly in regulating fat metabolism. Despite its significance, research into the direct relationship between vitamin A levels and obesity, especially among adolescents, is sparse. This study aims to explore this association within the adolescent population in the United States. This cross-sectional study analyzed the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data from 1999 to 2006, with 8218 participants. The levels of vitamin A in the serum were determined based on utilizing high-performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection. The relationship between serum vitamin A concentrations and body mass index (BMI) was evaluated using weighted multiple linear regression models, incorporating subgroup analyses by sex and race/ethnicity to provide nuanced insights. A positive correlation was observed between serum vitamin A levels and BMI, with BMI increasing progressively across vitamin A quartiles (P < 0.001). Using the lowest quartile of serum vitamin A as a reference, the BMI of the highest quartile of serum vitamin A was 1.236 times higher (95% CI 0.888, 1.585). Subgroup analyses revealed that this positive association persisted across different genders and racial/ethnic groups (P < 0.001). Notably, smooth curve fitting and saturation threshold analysis unveiled an inverted U-shaped relationship between serum vitamin A and BMI among female adolescents, non-Hispanic Whites, Mexican Americans, and other races/ethnicities groups. Our study substantiates the association between serum vitamin A levels and the risk of obesity/overweight status in adolescents. The findings suggest the potential serum vitamin A is an early biomarker for identifying obesity risk, although further studies are needed to determine to clarify its role as a contributing factor to obesity. This study contributes to the understanding of nutritional influences on adolescent obesity, highlighting the need for targeted interventions based on serum biomarkers.
维生素 A 在健康中起着至关重要的作用，特别是在调节脂肪代谢方面。尽管它很重要，但关于维生素 A 水平与肥胖之间的直接关系的研究，特别是在青少年中的研究还很匮乏。本研究旨在探索美国青少年人群中这种关联。本横断面研究分析了 1999 年至 2006 年的国家健康和营养检查调查（NHANES）数据，共有 8218 名参与者。血清中维生素 A 水平是基于高效液相色谱法与光电二极管阵列检测相结合来确定的。利用加权多重线性回归模型评估血清维生素 A 浓度与体重指数（BMI）之间的关系，并进行了性别和种族/民族亚组分析，以提供更细致的见解。血清维生素 A 水平与 BMI 之间呈正相关，随着维生素 A 四分位数的升高，BMI 呈递增趋势（P<0.001）。以血清维生素 A 最低四分位数为参照，血清维生素 A 最高四分位数的 BMI 高出 1.236 倍（95%CI 0.888, 1.585）。亚组分析表明，这种正相关关系在不同性别和种族/民族群体中均存在（P<0.001）。值得注意的是，平滑曲线拟合和饱和阈值分析揭示了女性青少年、非西班牙裔白人、墨西哥裔美国人和其他种族/民族群体中血清维生素 A 与 BMI 之间呈倒 U 形关系。本研究证实了血清维生素 A 水平与青少年肥胖/超重风险之间的关联。研究结果表明，血清维生素 A 可能是识别肥胖风险的早期生物标志物，但需要进一步研究来确定其是否是肥胖的一个促成因素。本研究有助于理解营养对青少年肥胖的影响，强调需要基于血清生物标志物进行有针对性的干预。
