Total salivary IgA, serum C3c and IgA in obese school children
Introduction
Nutritional status may modify the metabolic response to infection or injury and may influence morbidity and mortality [1], [2], [3].
Obesity, the major public health problem and a common type of malnutrition in developed countries, may be associated with altered host defense mechanisms, being infection a frequent primary or contributing cause of death in this nutritional pathology [1], [4], [5].
Epidemiologic and clinical information suggest that the incidence and severity of infectious illness are higher in obese than in non-obese individuals [5], [6], [7], [8].
In adults with severe uncomplicated obesity, normal concentrations of serum immunoglobulins (IgG, IgA, IgM, IgD) and complement components (C3, C4) with normal levels of secretory IgA and lysozyme in tears were observed [9]. Apparently, the T and B subpopulations of lymphocytes were the same for the obese individuals and normal controls. However, it was reported that the immune response to immunization against the hepatitis B virus was decreased by obesity. Other investigators reported that the in vitro release of MIF (macrophage migration inhibitory factor) by lymphocytes was decreased while the mitogen induced blastogenic response of pheripheral blood lymphocytes was significantly diminished in obese subjects [5], [8], [10], [11].
Finally, 38% of children and adolescents showed reduction of intracellular bacterial killing by polymorphonuclear leukocytes and variable immune responses in vivo and in vitro [12].
Despite such findings, which suggest that immunocompetence may be altered in obesity, little is known about specific components of the immune system in childhood obesity. Definitive studies on the effects of overnutrition on immune system function in humans are lacking [1], [8]
The aim of this report was to analyze the secretory and humoral immune system, through the determination of total salivary IgA and serum levels of C3 complement and Immunoglobulin A, in obese school children.
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Subjects
The study included one hundred and five obese children (50 girls and 55 boys)—diagnosed at the Service of Nutrition and Diabetes, Dr. Pedro de Elizalde Hospital, Buenos Aires, Argentina—, between 6 and 13 years of age and without concomitant pathologies.
The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the University of Buenos Aires and all participants gave informed consent before recruitment into the study.
Anthropometric assessment and laboratory analyses
The anthropometric assessment of patients included present weight and height and it was
Results
The results of RBW were: boys: 139.2 ± 19.5; girls: 138.4 ± 13.2.
Biochemical data, expressed as mg/dl, are presented in Table 1. No statistical differences were observed between boys and girls’ biochemical parameters, so the populations were unified.
Statistical differences at a level of p < 0.05 were observed for total salivary IgA; obese children showed the lowest values. Fig. 1 shows that 46% of the population present values lower than 10 mg/dl.
Statistical differences at level of p < 0.01
Discussion
It is accepted that nutrient imbalance—deficit or excess—affects immune responses. Therefore, the relationship between excess adiposity and immunity has been studied primarily in animal models of obesity, particularly in genetically obese rodents. In humans, clinical survey data have provided information about the relationship between obesity and immunologic function and few studies have compared specific immune responses in obese and non-obese individuals [1], [2], [4], [7]
Our study, performed
Acknowledgements
This study was supported in part by University of Buenos Aires (Grants B 003) and Biocientı́fica SA (Buenos Aires, Argentina).
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The role of exclusive breastfeeding on sIgA and lactoferrin levels in toddlers suffering from Acute Respiratory Infection: A cross-sectional study
2022, Annals of Medicine and SurgeryCitation Excerpt :Abdominal obesity and hypertriglyceridemia are components of the metabolic syndrome that are most closely associated with IgA [50]. Pollaro et al. also observed lower total sIgA levels in obese compared with lean children [51]. The relationship between nutritional status and lactoferrin was based on the results of a cohort study conducted on children of French Canadians aged 6, 13, and 16 years.
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Ontogeny of Mucosal Immunity and Aging
2015, Mucosal Immunology: Fourth EditionAre immunoglobulin concentrations associated with the body composition of adolescents?
2009, Human ImmunologyCitation Excerpt :The results for IgG are similar to those reported by González-Quintena et al.[16], who reported that obese subjects had higher concentrations than lean ones. With respect to IgA, Pallaro et al.[18] studied 6- to 13-year-old children and indicated no differences in serum IgA, but lower levels of IgA in saliva in obese individuals. They concluded that obesity may cause damage to the secretory compartment of the immune system, but not at the humoral level.
Ontogeny of mucosal immunity and aging
2005, Mucosal Immunology, Two-Volume Set