Cytokines and body adiposity in young female undergraduate students

Abstract Objective: to identify cytokines and to associate them with several indexes of total and central adiposity in young female undergraduate students. Methods: 58 young female sophomore students, aged 18 to 25 years, from a Brazilian public university were evaluated. Both anthropometric measures (weight, height, waist circumference and hip circumference) and body composition were assessed through DXA, and the values of android, gynoid and truncal fat mass were obtained. Cytokines (IL-8, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10 e TNF-α) were analyzed, and Body Mass Index (BMI), Body Adiposity Index (BAI), Visceral Adiposity Index (VAI), Conicity Index (CCI), Waist-Hip Index (WHR), Waist-to-Height Ratio (WHtR), Fat Mass Distribution Index 1 (FMI1) and Fat Mass Distribution Index 2 (FMI2) were calculated. Eventually, a linear regression was carried out to determine the regression coefficient and confidence interval (CI), having the predictor variables (cytokines) adjusted according to age and family history of obesity. The statistical significance of α = 5 % was applied. Results: a correlation between adiposity indexes and cytokines (CCI, WHR and IL-12; CCI, WHR, FMI1, FMI2and TNF-α) was identified. When it comes to the regression models, cytokines increase was related to CCI, WHR, FMI1 and FMI2 increase. Conclusion: pro-inflammatory cytokines were associated with an increase in adipose indexes. Therefore, these indexes became a feasible strategy for clinical practice in order to identify propensity to inflammatory disorders.