Increased Leptin and Decreased Caries in Overweight or Obese Children

Objective: Body-mass index (BMI) is commonly used to determine overweight or obese status, but may be highly variable in children. The adipokine leptin is a well-established obesity biomarker that is upregulated in overweight or obese adults. This relationship is not well-characterized in young children. Further, the dental implications of obesity in young children is unclear. The objectives were 1) to determine if serum leptin is upregulated in children aged 2-9 and 2) to determine if number of decayed and filled surfaces (DFS) is increased in overweight and obese (OWOB) children versus lean controls (CON).

Methods: 38 pediatric dental patients aged 2-9 receiving dental treatment under general anesthesia were recruited. BMI was calculated based on the patients age, sex, height and weight and blood pressure and blood serum were collected on the day of dental surgery. Number of teeth, and decayed and filled surfaces (DFS) were recorded after radiographic and clinical exam. Serum leptin was quantified by radioimmunoassay. Data were analyzed using ANOVA accepting p<0.05 as significant.

Results: Serum leptin was significantly elevated in OWOB versus CON. Females produced more leptin than males in CON and OWOB groups. Serum leptin was correlated with BMI in children aged 2-9. Total number of teeth did not differ between OWOB and CON. OWOB had significantly decreased DFS score, number of decayed teeth, and incisor DFS after adjusting for age, sex and ethnicity. There was no significant difference in molar and canine DFS in OWOB compared to CON.

Conclusions: Children as young as 2 manifest the symptoms of overweight or obesity which includes elevated serum leptin levels. Females are more prone to this effect than males. Overweight or obese children had a decreased number of decayed teeth, and decreased incisor DFS in this population.

Supported by NIH grant 5P-20RR020649-03