Background: B-type Natriuretic Peptide (BNP) has emerged as a hormone with many favorable physiological properties. Several researchers have demonstrated that BNP is lower level in obese adult than in non-obese ones, suggesting that Lower BNP may be involved in developing cardiovascular disease in obese adult. However, there have been few reports to exam relations between BNP and obesity in children. This study aimed to assess BNP level, and the relationship among BNP and obesity-related factors in obese children.
Methods and Results: The subjects were 131 obese and 20 non-obese boys aged 6 to 15 years. Obese boys were defined as the over middle-class obesity (obesity rate>30%, obesity rate was calculated: body weight-standard weight/standard weight * 100). Body height, weight, blood pressure and pulse rate were measured. Serum BNP, blood sugar, insulin, HbA1c, triglyceride, leptin and adiponectine were examined as obesity-related factors. BNP levels (11.38+/-11.42pg/ml) were significantly lower in obese boys than in non-obese boys (14.76+/-9.98pg/ml) (P<0.05). And the mean blood pressure were higher in obese boys than in non-obese ones (P<0.001). BNP was inversely associated with obesity rate, systolic blood pressure and pulse rate. There were positive association between BNP and insulin, leptin.
Conclusions: BNP decreased in obese children similarly to adults. Moreover, BNP level was related to insulin and leptin. Lower level of BNP persisted since children may be one of the factors of the metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease in adult.