An Amino Acid Signature Associated with Obesity Predicts 2-Year Risk of Hypertriglyceridemia in School-Age Children

Childhood obesity is associated with a number of metabolic abnormalities leading to increased cardiovascular risk. Metabolites can be useful as early biomarkers and new targets to promote early intervention beginning in school age. Thus, we aimed to identify metabolomic profiles associated with obesity and obesity-related metabolic traits. We used data from the Obesity Research Study for Mexican children (ORSMEC) in Mexico City and included a case control (n = 1120), cross-sectional (n = 554) and a longitudinal study (n = 301) of 6–12-year-old children. Forty-two metabolites were measured using electrospray MS/MS and multivariate regression models were used to test associations of metabolomic profiles with anthropometric, clinical and biochemical parameters. Principal component analysis showed a serum amino acid signature composed of arginine, leucine/isoleucine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, valine and proline significantly associated with obesity (OR = 1.57; 95%CI 1.45–1.69, P = 3.84 × 10(−31)) and serum triglycerides (TG) (β = 0.067, P = 4.5 × 10(−21)). These associations were validated in the cross-sectional study (P < 0.0001). In the longitudinal cohort, the amino acid signature was associated with serum TG and with the risk of hypertriglyceridemia after 2 years (OR = 1.19; 95%CI 1.03-1.39, P = 0.016). This study shows that an amino acid signature significantly associated with childhood obesity, is an independent risk factor of future hypertriglyceridemia in children.