UNLABELLED: Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a pleiotropic factor with angiogenic and mitogenic effects and has been linked to vascular diseases. It is elevated in obese adults. AIM: To investigate whether HGF levels are altered in obese adolescents and whether they correlate with anthropometric measurements of obesity. METHODS: Seventy-nine male adolescents were enrolled. Forty-eight percent were overweight. Various parameters were recorded at one visit, including BMI and waist circumference, and blood samples were taken. HGF was determined by ELISA. RESULTS: Overweight adolescents have higher plasma levels of HGF (1,099.8 +/- 416.7 pg/ml) than controls (883.2 +/- 218.7 pg/ml) (p = 0.008). HGF levels correlated with BMI and waist circumference. HGF correlated closely with high sensitive C-reactive protein. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated elevated HGF levels in obese adolescents. We speculate that HGF is a possible link between obesity in early life and related comorbidities.
UNLABELLED: Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a pleiotropic factor with angiogenic and mitogenic effects and has been linked to vascular diseases. It is elevated in obese adults. AIM: To investigate whether HGF levels are altered in obese adolescents and whether they correlate with anthropometric measurements of obesity. METHODS: Seventy-nine male adolescents were enrolled. Forty-eight percent were overweight. Various parameters were recorded at one visit, including BMI and waist circumference, and blood samples were taken. HGF was determined by ELISA. RESULTS: Overweight adolescents have higher plasma levels of HGF (1,099.8 +/- 416.7 pg/ml) than controls (883.2 +/- 218.7 pg/ml) (p = 0.008). HGF levels correlated with BMI and waist circumference. HGF correlated closely with high sensitive C-reactive protein. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated elevated HGF levels in obese adolescents. We speculate that HGF is a possible link between obesity in early life and related comorbidities.