Characteristics of serum lipid metabolism in obese children with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

LIU Lujie; XU Dong; XIAO Yanfeng; YIN Chunyan

doi:10.11852/zgetbjzz2024-1277

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Chinese Journal of Child Health Care ›› 2025, Vol. 33 ›› Issue (2) : 136-141. DOI: 10.11852/zgetbjzz2024-1277

Original Articles

Characteristics of serum lipid metabolism in obese children with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

LIU Lujie¹, XU Dong², XIAO Yanfeng¹, YIN Chunyan¹

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Abstract

Objective To compare the clinical data and serum lipid profiles between obese children with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and those without NAFLD, and to explore the diagnostic value of lipid lipid metabolites in NAFLD in obese children. Methods A total of 12 obese children diagnosed with NAFLD and 16 obese children without NAFLD in the Pediatric Outpatient Department of Xi′an Jiaotong University Second Hospital from September to December in 2023 were enrolled in this study. Each child underwent a physical examination and blood biochemical tests. Multivariate statistical analysis of lipidomic data was conducted using Lipidsearch and MetaboAnalyst 6.0. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was employed to evaluate the diagnostic value of lipid markers for NAFLD in obese children. Results Body mass index (BMI)(t=2.605)and alanine aminotransferase (ALT)(Z=2.351) levels were significantly higher in obese children with NAFLD compared to those without NAFLD (P<0.05). Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) indicated that lipidomics could effectively differentiate between the two groups. In the obese group with NAFLD, triglyceride (TG) levels were significantly elevated, while the subclasses of O-acyl-ω-hydroxy fatty acids (OAHFA) were significantly reduced compared to the obese group without NAFLD (P<0.05). Additionally, the levels of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) (18:0e_22:5), phosphatidylcholine (PC) (37:4e), phosphatidylcholine (PC) (20:4e_15:0), phytosphingosine (phSM) (d20:0_16:0), monosaccharide ceramide (Hex1Cer) (t20:0_22:6), and cardiolipin (CL) (83:13) were significantly decreased in obese children with NAFLD(P<0.05). The ROC curve analysis revealed that the area under the curve for the six lipid candidate markers was significantly greater than that for ALT, indicating their potential diagnostic value for NAFLD in obese children. Conclusions There are significant differences in lipidomic profiles between obese children with and without NAFLD. Disorders in lipid metabolism are associated with the development of NAFLD in obese children, and the identified lipid metabolites possess important diagnostic value for NAFLD in this population.

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childhood obesity / non-alcoholic fatty liver / lipidomics

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LIU Lujie, XU Dong, XIAO Yanfeng, YIN Chunyan. Characteristics of serum lipid metabolism in obese children with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease[J]. Chinese Journal of Child Health Care. 2025, 33(2): 136-141 https://doi.org/10.11852/zgetbjzz2024-1277

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