Glycated albumin is low in obese, non-diabetic children

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Abstract

The current study evaluates the indices of glucose control for diabetics (i.e., glycated albumin (GA), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), plasma glucose (PG) and immuno-reactive insulin (IRI)) in non-diabetic children from a population-based cohort, and compares those values according to the presence of obesity to examine any differences in these indices.

GA, HbA1c, casual PG and casual IRI in obese children (n = 209) were compared to those of non-obese children (n = 1060) in Ina town, Saitama Prefecture, in 2002–2003.

In obese children, the levels of HbA1c, PG and IRI were statistically higher when compared to those of non-obese children. In contrast, the median and intra-quartile range (IQR) of GA of obese children (13.6%: 12.6–14.7) was statistically lower when compared to that of non-obese children (14.3%: 13.5–15.4, p < 0.001). The low GA (%) in obese children is mainly due to the low absolute value of GA (g/dl) rather than a higher albumin value (g/dl).

This is the first report to reveal that GA levels are low in obese, non-diabetic children. Additional data collection and an experimental approach are necessary to reveal the reasons behind lower GA levels in obese children.

Introduction

The increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes is a global problem, especially in Asian countries [1], [2]. The current study evaluates the indices of glucose control for diabetics (i.e., glycated albumin (GA), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) [3], [4], plasma glucose (PG) and immuno-reactive insulin (IRI)) in non-diabetic children from a population-based cohort, and compares those values according to the presence of obesity to examine any differences in these indices.

Section snippets

Materials and methods

Annual projects promoting a healthy lifestyle in children have been performed since 1994 [5], [6], in conjunction with annual health checks as per Japanese school law in Ina town, Saitama Prefecture; this area has a population of approximately 35,000 and is located approximately 30 km north of Tokyo. The subjects of this study were participants in the health promotion plans rolled out in September 2002 and September 2003, and were composed of 9–10-year-old children (i.e., fourth graders) from

Results

A total of 1269 children (i.e., 350 boys and 318 girls aged 9–10 years, and 315 boys and 286 girls aged 12–13 years) agreed to participate in this study. Participation rates by calendar year were 98.9% for 2002 and 99.7% for 2003.

The prevalence rates of obesity were 19.3% (boys/girls: 22.3%/16.0%) for children aged 9–10 years, which was statistically higher than the rates of obesity for children aged 12–13 years, 13.3% (boys/girls: 14.0%/12.6%, p = 0.004 for total, p = 0.007 for boys and p = 0.249

Discussions

We hypothesized before the implementation of the study that the levels of GA, HbA1c, PG and IRI would be higher in obese, non-diabetic children compared to non-obese, non-diabetic children. We have already found that the level of GA was lower in obese children than in non-obese children in 2002; however, we postponed reporting this fact until we were able to perform the exact the same health examinations on a completely different sample of children in 2003 to examine the reliability of the

Acknowledgements

We are indebted to all the study participants and their parents as well as the members of the Board of Education in Ina town of Saitama Prefecture and the Ina town Conference for the Promotion and Operation of Childhood Lifestyle-Related Diseases Prevention Examination (Chairman: Dr. Michio Sato). Measurements of GA were conducted courtesy of the Asahi Kasei Corporation and the Daiichi Pure Chemicals Company Limited.

Grant support: This study was supported by a grant from the Ministry of

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