Lipid Profiles and Adipokines in Korean Children with Atopic Dermatitis

Backgrounds: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic pruritic recurrent inflammatory skin disorder, which can significant cause of morbidity. Obesity has been shown to have pro-inflammatory immune response. Leptin are adipokine are the obese gene product and secreted by adiposites. The prevalence of both childhood obesity and AD has increased in past few decades. The association between obesity and AD has not been well established.

Methods: A total of 227 subjects out of 2207 were defined as having AD based on questionnaire survey. Ninety AD children, aged between 6 and 12 years, completed scoring of severity of AD (SCORAD), blood tests for serum total IgE, blood eosinophil counts, serum eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) and lipid profiles. Serum levels of adipokines such as adiponectin and leptin were measured.

Results: There were no significant differences in terms of age, BMI, percentage of breast milk feeding, mode of delivery and prevalence of atopy between boys and girls, and between atopic subjects and non-atopic subjects. Lipid profiles were not different between boys and girls, and between atopic subjects and non-atopic subjects. Regarding to the adipokines, serum leptin levels were significantly higher in girls (2.44 ng/mL [1.40 – 4.22]) compared to boys and, atopic subjects (2.25 ng/mL [1.27 – 3.97]) compared to non-atopic subjects. There were no significant correlations between SCORAD index and serum adiponectin or leptin concentrations.

Conclusions: Although serum leptin levels were significantly higher in girls or non-atopic subjects, the SCORAD index was not correlated with those serum lipid profiles or adipokine levels. The lipid profiles and serum adipokine level are not influenced by the severity of AD in these pre-adolescent elementary school children in South Korea.