Podeanu Mihaela-Andreea, Vintilescu Ștefănița Bianca, Sandu Raluca Elena, Ionele Claudiu Marinel, Niculescu Carmen Elena, Florescu Mirela-Marinela, Șelaru Elena-Loredana, Stepan Mioara Desdemona
Doctoral School, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, 200349 Craiova, Romania.
Department of Infant Care, Pediatrics and Neonatology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, 200349 Craiova, Romania.
Int J Mol Sci. 2025 Apr 17;26(8):3793. doi: 10.3390/ijms26083793.
This study analyzed the relationship between obesity, metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its individual components, iron metabolism, and hepatic alterations in a pediatric group of patients. We mostly concentrated on the role of serum ferritin as a marker of inflammation. We conducted a retrospective study, in which we determined the presence of MetS and hepatic ultrasound changes in a cohort of 68 pediatric patients and examined the changes in serum iron and ferritin levels. MetS prevalence was significantly higher in obese children (64%) compared to those with average weight (11.1%). Abdominal circumference, triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were the most relevant MetS criteria. Serum iron levels were significantly lower, while ferritin levels increased proportionally with MetS number of components. Liver ultrasound findings confirmed a strong association between hepatic steatosis and MetS, with advanced ultrasonographic scores correlating with increased ferritin and serum iron deficiency. These results reinforce the interplay between iron metabolism and inflammation in pediatric MetS. Given this study's unicentric design and limited ethnic diversity, further large-scale, longitudinal studies are needed to confirm these findings and improve early screening strategies for pediatric metabolic complications.
本研究分析了一组儿科患者中肥胖、代谢综合征(MetS)及其各个组分、铁代谢和肝脏改变之间的关系。我们主要关注血清铁蛋白作为炎症标志物的作用。我们进行了一项回顾性研究,确定了68名儿科患者队列中MetS的存在情况和肝脏超声变化,并检测了血清铁和铁蛋白水平的变化。肥胖儿童的MetS患病率(64%)显著高于体重正常儿童(11.1%)。腹围、甘油三酯和高密度脂蛋白胆固醇是最相关的MetS标准。血清铁水平显著降低,而铁蛋白水平与MetS组分数量成比例增加。肝脏超声检查结果证实肝脂肪变性与MetS之间存在密切关联,超声评分越高,铁蛋白增加和血清铁缺乏越明显。这些结果强化了儿科MetS中铁代谢与炎症之间的相互作用。鉴于本研究的单中心设计和有限的种族多样性,需要进一步开展大规模纵向研究以证实这些发现,并改进儿科代谢并发症的早期筛查策略。
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