Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Metabolic Profiling of Obesity With and Without the Metabolic Syndrome : A Multisample Evaluation

Lind, Lars ; Salihovic, Samira ; Sundström, Johan ; Elmståhl, Sölve LU ; Hammar, Ulf ; Dekkers, Koen ; Ärnlöv, Johan ; Smith, J. Gustav LU orcid ; Engström, Gunnar LU and Fall, Tove (2022) In Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 107(5). p.1337-1345
Abstract

Context: There is a dispute whether obesity without major metabolic derangements may represent a benign condition or not. Objective: We aimed to compare the plasma metabolome in obese subjects without metabolic syndrome (MetS) with normal-weight subjects without MetS and with obese subjects with MetS. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study at 2 academic centers in Sweden. Individuals from 3 population-based samples (EpiHealth, n=2342, SCAPIS-Uppsala, n=4985, and SCAPIS-Malmö, n=3978) were divided into groups according to their body mass index (BMI) and presence/absence of MetS (National Cholesterol Education Program [NCEP]/consensus criteria). In total, 791 annotated endogenous metabolites were measured by ultra-performance liquid... (More)

Context: There is a dispute whether obesity without major metabolic derangements may represent a benign condition or not. Objective: We aimed to compare the plasma metabolome in obese subjects without metabolic syndrome (MetS) with normal-weight subjects without MetS and with obese subjects with MetS. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study at 2 academic centers in Sweden. Individuals from 3 population-based samples (EpiHealth, n=2342, SCAPIS-Uppsala, n=4985, and SCAPIS-Malmö, n=3978) were divided into groups according to their body mass index (BMI) and presence/absence of MetS (National Cholesterol Education Program [NCEP]/consensus criteria). In total, 791 annotated endogenous metabolites were measured by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Results: We observed major differences in metabolite profiles (427 metabolites) between obese (BMI≥30 kg/m2) and normal-weight (BMI<25 kg/m2) subjects without MetS after adjustment for major lifestyle factors. Pathway enrichment analysis highlighted branch-chained and aromatic amino acid synthesis/metabolism, aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, and sphingolipid metabolism. The same pathways, and similar metabolites, were also highlighted when obese subjects with and without MetS were compared despite adjustment for BMI and waist circumference, or when the metabolites were related to BMI and number of MetS components in a continuous fashion. Similar metabolites and pathways were also related to insulin sensitivity (Matsuda index) in a separate study (POEM, n=501). Conclusion: Our data suggest a graded derangement of the circulating metabolite profile from lean to obese to MetS, in particular for metabolites involved in amino acid synthesis/metabolism and sphingolipid metabolism. Insulin resistance is a plausible mediator of this gradual metabolic deterioration.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
epidemiology, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, metabolomics, obesity
in
Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism
volume
107
issue
5
pages
9 pages
publisher
Oxford University Press
external identifiers
  • pmid:34984454
  • scopus:85130013765
ISSN
0021-972X
DOI
10.1210/clinem/dgab922
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Endocrine Society. All rights reserved.
id
5d97f81a-4622-4307-a245-6133578d4690
date added to LUP
2022-08-19 14:49:26
date last changed
2025-03-21 14:35:24
@article{5d97f81a-4622-4307-a245-6133578d4690,
  abstract     = {{<p>Context: There is a dispute whether obesity without major metabolic derangements may represent a benign condition or not. Objective: We aimed to compare the plasma metabolome in obese subjects without metabolic syndrome (MetS) with normal-weight subjects without MetS and with obese subjects with MetS. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study at 2 academic centers in Sweden. Individuals from 3 population-based samples (EpiHealth, n=2342, SCAPIS-Uppsala, n=4985, and SCAPIS-Malmö, n=3978) were divided into groups according to their body mass index (BMI) and presence/absence of MetS (National Cholesterol Education Program [NCEP]/consensus criteria). In total, 791 annotated endogenous metabolites were measured by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Results: We observed major differences in metabolite profiles (427 metabolites) between obese (BMI≥30 kg/m2) and normal-weight (BMI&lt;25 kg/m2) subjects without MetS after adjustment for major lifestyle factors. Pathway enrichment analysis highlighted branch-chained and aromatic amino acid synthesis/metabolism, aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, and sphingolipid metabolism. The same pathways, and similar metabolites, were also highlighted when obese subjects with and without MetS were compared despite adjustment for BMI and waist circumference, or when the metabolites were related to BMI and number of MetS components in a continuous fashion. Similar metabolites and pathways were also related to insulin sensitivity (Matsuda index) in a separate study (POEM, n=501). Conclusion: Our data suggest a graded derangement of the circulating metabolite profile from lean to obese to MetS, in particular for metabolites involved in amino acid synthesis/metabolism and sphingolipid metabolism. Insulin resistance is a plausible mediator of this gradual metabolic deterioration. </p>}},
  author       = {{Lind, Lars and Salihovic, Samira and Sundström, Johan and Elmståhl, Sölve and Hammar, Ulf and Dekkers, Koen and Ärnlöv, Johan and Smith, J. Gustav and Engström, Gunnar and Fall, Tove}},
  issn         = {{0021-972X}},
  keywords     = {{epidemiology; insulin resistance; metabolic syndrome; metabolomics; obesity}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{05}},
  number       = {{5}},
  pages        = {{1337--1345}},
  publisher    = {{Oxford University Press}},
  series       = {{Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism}},
  title        = {{Metabolic Profiling of Obesity With and Without the Metabolic Syndrome : A Multisample Evaluation}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1210/clinem/dgab922}},
  doi          = {{10.1210/clinem/dgab922}},
  volume       = {{107}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}