Are Advanced Glycation End-Products and Skin Autofluorescence Associated with E-Selectin and Pulse Wave Velocity as Markers of Atherosclerosis Risk in Children with Obesity?

Obesity is a risk factor for numerous complications, including atherosclerosis, the pathogenesis of which is complex. The aim of our study is to evaluate serum levels of E-selectin and hs-CRP and pulse wave velocity (PWV) as atherosclerosis risk factors and to explore their relationship with advanced glycation end products (AGEs), methylgioxal (MG) and skin autofluorescence (sAF). We evaluated 125 children aged 8-18 years with simple obesity, stratified into two subgroups based on SDS BMI (Group I: 2-4; Group II: >4), and compared them with 33 age-matched peers of normal weight. Children with obesity exhibited significantly elevated serum concentrations of AGEs, MG, E-selectin, and hs-CRP relative to the control group. Additionally, both height-normalized pulse wave velocity (SDS PWV) and sAF values were significantly higher in the children with obesity compared to their normal-weight counterparts. Except for sAF, which was elevated in children with obesity with a higher SDS BMI, no significant differences were observed among the subgroups of children. Positive correlations were observed between E-selectin and AGEs, MG and SDS PWV, as well as sAF and SDS BMI. Our findings indicate that children with obesity exhibit early signs of atherosclerotic changes, regardless of the degree of obesity. Moreover, circulating AGEs may represent a more reliable biomarker of atherosclerosis risk than sAF, as suggested by the strong positive correlation between AGEs and E-selectin. Further studies are warranted to validate these findings.