Scientists have developed a new blood test that uses lipids to identify children who are more vulnerable to obesity-related problems, such as type 2 diabetes, liver and heart disease. Researchers at King’s College London have discovered a new link between lipids and disorders that affect children’s metabolism, and the finding could provide an early warning system for diseases including liver disease. The study was published in Nature Medicine.
The researchers propose that this could help medical professionals identify early signs of disease in children more quickly and facilitate their access to appropriate treatment using blood plasma testing machines already used in hospitals. The findings also refute the common belief that cholesterol is a major cause of obesity-related complications in children, identifying new lipid molecules that contribute to health risks such as blood pressure but are not related solely to a child’s weight.
Lipid research and its impact on childhood health
Lipids are traditionally thought of as fatty acids in the body, good or bad types of cholesterol or triglycerides, fats found in the bloodstream that are most common in the human body. Recent studies from the same group of scientists have suggested that the picture is more complex. Using a technique involving chemistry called mass spectrometry, current evidence suggests there are thousands of different types of lipids present in the body, each with a different function.
Using a control sample of 1,300 obese children, the team assessed the lipids in their blood. 200 of them were then put on the Holbeck-model for a year, a popular lifestyle intervention for obese people in Denmark. Follow-up readings showed that among the intervention group, despite limited improvements in BMI for some children, there was a reduction in the number of lipids associated with diabetes risk, insulin resistance and blood pressure.
Dr Christina Legido-Quigley, a group leader in Systems Medicine at King’s College London, head of Systems Medicine at the Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen (SDCC) and lead author, said: “For decades, scientists have relied on a classification system for lipids that divided them into good and bad cholesterol, but now with a simple blood test we can assess a much broader range of lipid molecules that could serve as important early warning signs for disease. In the future, this could be a completely new way to evaluate a person’s individual risk of disease and by studying how lipid molecules are changed in the body, we could even prevent metabolic diseases such as diabetes altogether.”
Understanding lipids beyond cholesterol
Obesity remains a risk factor for conditions such as fatty liver disease, but the team hopes doctors can use these measurements to treat children when they are at risk and not just when they are slightly older than their peers. Dr Carolina Sulek, who was part of the study and carried out the analysis at SDCC, said: “Early identification of children at risk of these life-threatening diseases is crucial. The study provides strong evidence of the huge need for obesity management and gives parents the confidence to intervene more compassionately in their children’s lives, helping them to lose weight.”
The next step for researchers is to understand how genetics affects lipids and what this means for metabolic diseases, as well as how these lipids can be changed to improve health.
