A Prospective Study of Homocysteine and its relation to Body Mass Index and Lipid Profile in School Children.

OBJECTIVE: To study the serum Homocysteine levels in children and its relation with body mass index (BMI), lipid profile and plasma glucose.

Methods: 138 children (age 5-15 y) were enrolled and categorized into normal, overweight and obese group. Blood homocysteine, lipid profile and plasma glucose were estimated.

RESULTS: Out of 138 children, 46 (33%) were normal, 40 (29%) were overweight and 52 (38%) were obese. Hyper-homocysteinemia was found in 34 (24.6%) of children. None of the normal children had hyperhomocysteinemia in contrast to 15 (37.5%) in overweight and 19 (36.5%) in obese group (P=0.001).The median homocysteine levels in obese and overweight children was significantly higher compared to normal children (P=0.001).There was a positive correlation between BMI and homocysteine levels. There was no significant correlation between lipid profile and plasma glucose with homocysteine levels.

CONCLUSION: Serum homocysteine levels are significantly higher in both overweight and obese children compared to normal children.