Omentin as an Independent Predictor of Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity Among Adolescents in Northeast China

PURPOSE: We investigated the association of omentin with metabolic syndrome (MetS), MetS components, and obesity in adolescents. METHODS: A total of 742 middle-school students from Liaoyang City were enrolled in this cross-sectional study using the stratified cluster sampling method. Clinical information and blood samples were collected, and serum omentin levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: Mean plasma omentin levels were lower in male than in female participants (88.25 (interquartile range 63.02–133.61) vs 99.46 (interquartile range 69.08–188.35) ng/L, P = 0.004). The participants were divided into four groups according to the quartile (Q) values of omentin from low to high. With increasing omentin levels from Q1 to Q4, the age of adolescents and the proportion of males gradually increased (P < 0.05), whereas the body mass index (BMI) (P < 0.05) and prevalence of MetS (P > 0.05) tended to decrease. Omentin levels were significantly and negatively correlated with waist circumference and BMI (correlation coefficients of ˗0.099 and ˗0.115, respectively). Regression analysis showed that omentin level was independently associated with the risk of MetS (Odds ratio, OR = 0.639, 95% confidence interval, CI (0.432, 0.945)), which was attributed to the association with central obesity (OR = 0.775, 95% CI (0.605, 0.993)) among MetS components. Increased omentin levels also indicated a reduced risk of obesity (OR = 0.700, 95% CI (0.563, 0.870)). CONCLUSION: Omentin is an independent predictor of MetS and obesity among adolescents in northeast China.