Elevated vaspin and leptin levels are associated with obesity in prepubertal Korean children

Adipokines are associated with obesity. However, the relationships between adipokines, specifically vaspin, obesity, and obesity-related variables remain controversial, and only a few studies have been conducted which examines them in children. We investigated the relationships between obesity in prepubertal Korean children and three types of adipokines: vaspin, leptin, and visfatin. In this cross-sectional study, 168 nine-year-old boys and 176 nine-year-old girls participated in a school-based health examination program. Children were classified as overweight using the Korean Pediatric Society 2007 guidelines. Overweight boys and girls had higher leptin and vaspin levels than both boys and girls of normal weight, whereas only overweight boys had higher visfatin levels than normal weight boys. Leptin, visfatin and vaspin concentrations were correlated with obesity-related variables. A multiple logistic regression analysis showed that systolic blood pressure (SBP), total cholesterol (TC), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), leptin, and vaspin were associated with an increased risk of being overweight, whereas high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol was associated with a decreased risk of being overweight. Elevated vaspin and leptin levels are associated with obesity in prepubertal Korean children.