High-sensitivity C-reactive protein is a predictive factor of adiposity in children: Results of the identification and prevention of dietary-and lifestyle-induced health effects in children and infants (IDEFICS) study

Background--whereas cross-sectional studies have shown that obesity is associated with increased c-reactive protein (crp) levels in children,little is known about the impact of low-grade inflammation on body mass changes during growth. methods and results--we assessed cross-sectionally and longitudinally the association of high-sensitivity (hs)-crp levels with overweight/obesity and related cardiometabolic risk factors in the identification and prevention of dietary-and lifestyle-induced health effects in children and infants (idefics) cohort. 16 224 children from 8 european countries (2 to 9 years) were recruited during the baseline survey (t0). after the exclusion of 7187 children because of missing hs-crp measurements and 2421 because of drug use during the previous week,the analysis was performed on 6616 children (boys=3347; girls=3269; age=6.3±1.7 years). of them,4110 were reexamined 2 years later (t1). anthropometric variables,blood pressure,hs-crp,blood lipids,glucose and insulin were measured. the population at t0 was divided into 3 categories,according to the baseline hs-crp levels. higher hs-crp levels were associated with significantly higher prevalence of overweight/obesity,body mass index (bmi) z-score and central adiposity indices (p values all <0.0001),and with higher blood pressure and lower hdl-cholesterol levels. over the 2-year followup,higher baseline hs-crp levels were associated with a significant increase in bmi z-score (p<0.001) and significantly higher risk of incident overweight/obesity. conclusions--higher hs-crp levels are associated to higher body mass and overweight/obesity risk in a large population of european children. children with higher baseline levels of hs-crp had a greater increase in bmi z-score and central adiposity over time and were at higher risk of developing overweight/obesity during growth. © 2013 the authors.