The influence of familial predisposition to cardiovascular complications upon childhood obesity treatment

PLoS One. 2015 Mar 10;10(3):e0120177. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0120177. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

Introduction: The aim was to investigate whether a familial predisposition to obesity related cardiovascular complications was associated with the degree of obesity at baseline and/or changes in the degree of obesity during a multidisciplinary childhood obesity treatment program.

Methods: The study included 1421 obese children (634 boys) with a median age of 11.5 years (range 3.1-17.9 years), enrolled in treatment for 0.04 to 5.90 years (median 1.3 years) at the Children's Obesity Clinic, Denmark. At baseline, weight and height were measured, body mass index (BMI) standard deviation score (SDS) calculated, and self-reported information on familial predisposition to obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), thromboembolic events, and dyslipidaemia were obtained. A familial predisposition included events in biological parents, siblings, grandparents, uncles, and aunts. The treatment outcomes were categorically analysed according to the prevalence of familial predispositions.

Results: The median BMI SDS at enrollment was 3.2 in boys and 2.8 in girls. One-thousand-and-forty-one children had obesity in their family, 773 had hypertension, 551 had T2DM, 568 had thromboembolic events, and 583 had dyslipidaemia. Altogether, 733 had three or more predispositions. At baseline, familial T2DM was associated with a higher mean BMI SDS (p = 0.03), but no associations were found between the other predispositions and the children's degree of obesity. During treatment, girls with familial obesity lost more weight, compared to girls without familial obesity (p = 0.04). No other familial predispositions were associated with changes in BMI SDS during treatment.

Conclusion: Obese children with a familial predisposition to T2DM showed a significantly higher degree of obesity at baseline and girls with familial obesity responded better to treatment. Besides these findings, no other associations were found between the occurrence of familial predispositions and the degree of obesity or changes herein during multidisciplinary childhood obesity treatment.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Cardiovascular Diseases / etiology*
  • Cardiovascular Diseases / prevention & control
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / etiology*
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / prevention & control
  • Disease Susceptibility
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Pediatric Obesity / complications*
  • Pediatric Obesity / therapy
  • Treatment Outcome

Grants and funding

This study is part of research activities in TARGET (The impact of our genomes on individual treatment response in obese children, see www.target.ku.dk) and BIOCHILD (Genetics and systems biology of childhood obesity in India and Denmark, see (www.biochild.ku.dk)) consortia supported by the Region Zealand Health Scientific Research Foundation (see, http://www.regionsjaelland.dk/Sundhed/forskning/forskningsfinansiering/Sider/oekonomi.aspx) and the Danish Council for Strategic Research (grant 11-115917 and 11-116714) (see, http://ufm.dk/en/research-and-innovation/councils-and-commissions/the-danish-council-for-strategic-research). Funding was received by J-CH. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.