CONNECTION BETWEEN OVERWEIGHT, OBESITY AND SPIROMETRIC, HEMATOLOGICAL PARAMETERS, TOTAL IMMUNOGLOBULIN E, INTERLEUKIN-6 LEVELS IN BLOOD SERUM IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS WITH BRONCHIAL ASTHMA

There is undoubtedly insufficient number of studies dedicated to the interleukin-6 (IL-6) in blood serum of children and adolescents with bronchial asthma (BA) and those are contradictory. Connection between the IL-6 serum level and systemic markers of type 2 inflammation in BA in children and adolescents depending on the nutritional status remains a subject to discussion as well. The purpose of this research was to study the effect of excess body weight (BW) and obesity on spirometric, hematological parameters, total immunoglobulin E (IgE), IL-6 levels in blood serum of children and adolescents with BA. Materials and methods used: a single-center observational cross-sectional pilot study of 76 adolescents aged 6 to 17 y/o (75% (57) boys) with BA was conducted. All were measured for anthropometric and spirometric parameters, body composition, hematological parameters, total IgE and IL-6 levels in blood serum. Dysanapsis was diagnosed when three conditions were simultaneously met: 1. high or high-to-normal zFVC (above 0.674), 2. normal zFEV1 (above –1.645), and 3. low FEV1/FVC index (below 80%). Results: the number of monocytes (109/l) in peripheral blood and the serum IL-6 level (pg/ml) were statistically significantly higher in the group of patients with overweight and obesity compared to patients with underweight/normal BW (0.55 [0.49; 0.77] v 0.51 [0.42; 0.58], p=0.043 and 1.99 [1.20; 5.78] v 1.28 [0.31; 2.43], p=0.002, respectively). In patients with excess BW and obesity, an inverse statistically significant relationship was found between the serum IL-6 level, zFEV1/ FVC and the dysanapsis ratio (R=–0.53, p=0.009, R=–0.61, p=0.002, respectively). Conclusion: formation of an obstructive pattern in children and adolescents with BA with excess BW and obesity may be associated with non-T2-dependent inflammatory mechanisms. © 2024, Pediatria Ltd.. All rights reserved.