Zinc deficiency in obese children and adolescents & its relation to insulin resistance / Mohammed Mohsen Wageeh Farag ; Supervised Abeer Atef Eshmawy , Hend Mehawed Abdellatif Soliman , Yosra Aboelnaga Fahmy

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Medicine - Department of Pediatrics

Background :The childhood obesity has become a serious public health problem in many countries worldwide and it is a major public health challenge of 21stcentury. Obese individuals are at a high risk of developingdyslipidemia, hypertension, impaired glucose tolerance, insulinresistance, and consequent increase of the risk of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. High insulin resistance is a common association with obesity and may be associated serum zinc disturbance.Patients and methods One hundred obese children and adolescents and 100 healthy controls aged 4{u2013}18 years{u2019} age and sex matched were recruited for the study. serum zinc, fasting plasma glucose, and fasting insulin were measured. Insulin resistance was calculated according to the homeostatic model of assessment for insulin resistance. Results Obese individuals had significantly higher fasting plasma glucose, fasting blood insulin,and homeostatic model of assessment for insulin resistance than in healthy controls (all P<0.05). Zinc deficiency was statically significant higher in obese groups as compared to control group Conclusion Higher prevalence of zinc deficiency among obese children and adolescents as compared to non-obese children and adolescents, and among obese children with insulin resistance(HOMA-IR > 2.7) as compared to obese children without insulin resistance (HOMA-IR{u2264} 2.7)

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