Adipocytokine profile and effectiveness of the weight loss in patients with metabolically healthy obesity

Abstract

Background: Obesity is a major risk factor for diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases. Nevertheless, some obese patients have normal parameters of blood arterial pressure, carbohydrate, and lipid metabolism ("metabolically healthy obesity", MHO).Aim: To study adipocytokine levels and to assess the effect of weight loss on cardiometabolic risk factors in patients with metabolically healthy obesity.Materials and methods: We conducted a comparative analysis of the main metabolic parameters and adipocytokine levels in 44 female patients with MHO (according to the IDF criteria of the metabolic syndrome, 2005: obese patients with no more than one additional cardiometabolic risk factor) and in 33 women with metabolically unhealthy obesity (MUHO). We also assessed changes of these indices in the patients who reduced their body weight by ≥ 5% at 6 months.Results: At baseline, body mass index (BMI) and the levels of basal insulin, C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor alfa (TNF-α), adiponectin and retinol-binding protein-4 (RBP-4) in the MHO and MUHO groups were comparable. A significant difference between these groups was observed for the HOMA index (3.0 and 4.4, respectively; p < 0.05), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (23.49 and 37.39 U/l; p = 0.001), interleukin-6 (0.76 and 1.5 pg/ml; p < 0.05), chemerin (322.4 and 369.2 ng/ml; p < 0.05), and the duration of obesity (18 and 22.6 years; p < 0.05). At 6 months, in those MHO patients, who reduced body weight by ≥ 5% of the initial (66%), there was a significant increase of adiponectin by 4.54 ± 0.83 µg/ml (p < 0.05) and a reduction of waist circumference (WC) by -8.6 ± 1 cm (p > 0.05), НОМА index by -1.13 ± 0.42 (p < 0.05), CRP by -1.7 ± 0.4 mg/l (p < 0.05), RBP-4 by 2.9 ± 1.0 ng/ml (p < 0.05), and сhemerin by -46.6 ± 17.0 ng/ml (p < 0.05). In the MHO group, we found a positive correlation between changes in the adiponectin levels and the degree of reduction in body weight (p < 0.01), changes in RBP-4 and WC (p < 0.05), and changes in the levels of interleukin-6 and high-density lipoprotein (p < 0.05).Conclusion: Compared to the complicated obesity, MHO is associated with a shorter disease history, and lower levels of the HOMA index, interleukin-6, and chemerin levels. The body mass decrease in MHO is associated with a decrease in the proinflammatory adipocytokine levels and of the HOMA index that determines the need for treatment of obesity, regardless of its phenotype.

Keywords

• metabolically healthy obesity
• cardiometabolic risk
• metabolic syndrome
• insulin resistance
• adipocytokine