Top

Published in:

Open Access 01-12-2021 | Obesity | Research

Cortisol concentration affects fat and muscle mass among Polish children aged 6–13 years

Authors: Paulina Pruszkowska-Przybylska, Aneta Sitek, Iwona Rosset, Marta Sobalska-Kwapis, Marcin Słomka, Dominik Strapagiel, Elżbieta Żądzińska, Niels Morling

Published in: BMC Pediatrics | Issue 1/2021

Abstract

Background

Cortisol is a steroid hormone acting as a stress hormone, which is crucial in regulating homeostasis. Previous studies have linked cortisol concentration to body mass and body composition.

Methods

The investigations were carried out in 2016–2017. A total of 176 children aged 6–13 years in primary schools in central Poland were investigated. Three types of measurements were performed: anthropometric (body weight and height, waist and hip circumferences), body composition (fat mass FM (%), muscle mass – MM (%), body cellular mass - BCM (%), total body water - TBW (%)), and cortisol concentration using saliva of the investigated individuals. Information about standard of living, type of feeding after birth, parental education and maternal trauma during pregnancy was obtained with questionnaires.

Results

The results of regression models after removing the environmental factors (parental education, standard of living, type of feeding after birth, and maternal trauma during pregnancy) indicate a statistically significant association between the cortisol concentration and fat mass and muscle mass. The cortisol concentration was negatively associated with FM (%) (Beta=-0.171; p = 0.026), explaining 2.32 % of the fat mass variability and positively associated with MM (%) (Beta = 0.192; p = 0.012) explaining 3.09 % of the muscle mass variability.

Conclusions

Cortisol concentration affects fat and muscle mass among Polish children.

Trial registration

The Ethical Commission at the University of Lodz (nr 19/KBBN-UŁ/II/2016).

Available only for authorised users

De Kloet ER, Vreugdenhil E, Oitzl MS, Joëls M. Brain corticosteroid receptor balance in health and disease. Endocr Rev. 1998;19(3):269–301. doi:https://doi.org/10.1210/edrv.19.3.0331CrossRefPubMed

Ritter HD, Mueller CR. Expression microarray identifies the unliganded glucocorticoid receptor as a regulator of gene expression in mammary epithelial cells. BMC Cancer. 2014;14:275. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2407-14-275.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Sahin E, Gümüşlü S. Alterations in brain antioxidant status, protein oxidation and lipid peroxidation in response to different stress models. Behav Brain Res. 2004;155(2):241–248. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2004.04.022CrossRefPubMed

Gundersen C, Mahatmya D, Garasky S, Lohman B. Linking psychosocial stressors and childhood obesity. Obes Rev. 2011;12(5):e54-e63. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-789X.2010.00813.xCrossRef

Koch FS, Sepa A, Ludvigsson J. Psychological stress and obesity. J Pediatr. 2008;153(6):839–844. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2008.06.016CrossRefPubMed

Genitsaridi SM, Karampatsou S, Papageorgiou I, et al. Hair Cortisol Concentrations in Overweight and Obese Children and Adolescents. Horm Res Paediatr. 2019;92(4):229–236. doi:https://doi.org/10.1159/000504913CrossRefPubMed

Yu, T, Zhou, W, Wu S, Liu Q, Li X. Evidence for disruption of diurnal salivary cortisol rhythm in childhood obesity: relationships with anthropometry, puberty and physical activity. BMC pediatrics.2020;20(1), 1–10.CrossRef

Dai W, Wagh SA, Chettiar S, Zhou GD, Roy R, Qiao X, Visich PS, Hoffman EP. Blunted circadian cortisol in children is associated with poor cardiovascular health and may reflect circadian misalignment. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2021 Jul;129:105252. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105252. Epub 2021 May 11. PMID: 34049197.

Żądzińska E, Rosset I, Kozieł S, et al. Frequency of under- and overweight among children and adolescents during the economic transition in Poland. Homo. 2012;63(3):216–232. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jchb.2012.03.001CrossRefPubMed

10.

Żądzińska E, Rosset I. Pre-natal and perinatal factors affecting body mass index in pre-pubertal Polish children. Ann Hum Biol. 2013;40(6):477–484. doi:https://doi.org/10.3109/03014460.2013.806589CrossRefPubMed

11.

Quesada-López T, González-Dávalos L, Piña E, Mora O. HSD1 and AQP7 short-term gene regulation by cortisone in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Adipocyte. 2016;5(3):298–305. Published 2016 Jun 3. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/21623945.2016.1187341CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

12.

Nagalski A, Kiersztan A. Fizjologia i molekularny mechanizm działania glikokortykoidów [Physiology and molecular mechanism of glucocorticoidaction]. Postepy Hig Med Dosw (Online). 2010;64:133–145. Published 2010 Mar 18.

13.

Viru A, Viru M. Cortisol–essential adaptation hormone in exercise. Int J Sports Med. 2004;25(6):461–464. doi:https://doi.org/10.1055/s-2004-821068CrossRefPubMed

14.

Knussmann, R. (1988). Somatometrie. In R. Knussmann (Ed.), Antropologie. Handbuch der vergleichenden Biologie desMenschen (pp. 232–285). Stuttgart: G. Fischer Verlag.

15.

Pruszkowska-Przybylska P, Sitek A, Rosset I, Sobalska-Kwapis M, Słomka M, Strapagiel D, & Morling N. Associations between second to fourth digit ratio, cortisol, vitamin D, and body composition among Polish children. Scientific Reports. 2021;11(1), 1–9.CrossRef

16.

Pruszkowska-Przybylska P, Sitek A, Rosset I, Sobalska‐Kwapis M, Słomka M, Strapagiel D, & Morling N. Association of saliva 25 (OH) D concentration with body composition and proportion among pre‐pubertal and pubertal Polish children. American Journal of Human Biology. 2020; 32(5), e23397.

17.

Pruszkowska-Przybylska P, Sitek A, Rosset I, Żądzińska E, Sobalska-Kwapis M, Słomka M, & Strapagiel D. The association between socioeconomic status, duration of breastfeeding, parental age and birth parameters with BMI, body fat and muscle mass among prepubertal children in Poland. Anthropol Anz. 2019; 76(5), 409–419.CrossRef

18.

Lee DY, Kim E, Choi MH. Technical and clinical aspects of cortisol as a biochemical marker of chronic stress. BMB Rep. 2015;48(4):209–16. doi: https://doi.org/10.5483/bmbrep.2015.48.4.275. PMID: 25560699; PMCID: PMC4436856.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

19.

Ljubijankić N, Popović-Javorić R, Sćeta S, Sapcanin A, Tahirović I, & Sofić E. Daily fluctuation of cortisol in the saliva and serum of healthy persons. Bosnian journal of basic medical sciences. 2008;8(2), 110–115.CrossRef

20.

Garde AH, Hansen AM. Long-term stability of salivary cortisol. Scand J Clin Lab Invest. 2005;65(5):433-6. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/00365510510025773. PMID: 16081365.https://doi.org/10.17305/bjbms.2008.2962

21.

Bahramian, A., Falsafi, P., Abbasi, T., Ghanizadeh, M., Abedini, M., Kavoosi, F., & Rezaei, F. (2018). Comparing serum and salivary levels of vitamin D in patients with recurrent Aphthous stomatitis and healthy individuals. Journal of Dentistry, 19(4), 295–300.PubMedPubMedCentral

22.

El-Farhan N, Rees DA, Evans C. Measuring cortisol in serum, urine and saliva - are our assays good enough?. Ann Clin Biochem. 2017;54(3):308–322. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/0004563216687335CrossRefPubMed

23.

Lissau I. Overweight and obesity epidemic among children. Answer from European countries. International Journal of Obesity. 2004;28(3), S10-S15.

24.

Chu L, Shen K, Liu P, et al. Increased Cortisol and Cortisone Levels in Overweight Children. Med Sci Monit Basic Res. 2017;23:25–30. Published 2017 Feb 9. doi:https://doi.org/10.12659/msmbr.902707CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

25.

Veldhorst MA, Noppe G, Jongejan MH, et al. Increased scalp hair cortisol concentrations in obese children. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2014;99(1):285–290. doi:https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2013-2924CrossRefPubMed

26.

Kjölhede EA, Gustafsson PE, Gustafsson PA, Nelson N. Overweight and obese children have lower cortisol levels than normal weight children. Acta Paediatr. 2014;103(3):295–299. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.12499CrossRefPubMed

27.

Chalew SA, Lozano RA, Armour KM, Zadik Z, Kowarski AA. Reduction of plasma cortisol levels in childhood obesity. J Pediatr. 1991;119(5):778–780. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/s0022-3476(05)80302-6CrossRefPubMed

28.

Hill EE, Eisenmann JC, Holmes ME, Heelan KA. Morning cortisol is not associated with truncal fatness or resting blood pressure in children: cross-sectional and 1–2 year follow-up analyses. J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab. 2010 Oct;23(10):1031-7. doi: https://doi.org/10.1515/jpem.2010.164. PMID: 21158214.

29.

Shoelson SE, Herrero L, Naaz A. Obesity, inflammation, and insulin resistance. Gastroenterology. 2007;132(6):2169–2180. doi:https://doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2007.03.059CrossRefPubMed

30.

Trost SG, Sallis JF, Pate RR, Freedson PS, Taylor WC, Dowda M. Evaluating a model of parental influence on youth physical activity. Am J Prev Med. 2003;25(4):277–282. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/s0749-3797(03)00217-4CrossRefPubMed

31.

Pruszkowska-Przybylska P, Sitek A, Rosset I, et al. Association of the 2D:4D digit ratio with body composition among the Polish children aged 6–13 years. Early Human Development. 2018 Sep;124:26–32. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2018.08.001.

32.

Post EG, Green NE, Schaefer DA, et al. Socioeconomic status of parents with children participating on youth club sport teams. Phys Ther Sport. 2018;32:126–132. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ptsp.2018.05.014CrossRefPubMed

33.

Vicente-Rodríguez G, Rey-López JP, Mesana MI, Poortvliet E, Ortega FB, Polito A, et al. Reliability and Intermethod Agreement for Body Fat Assessment Among Two Field and Two Laboratory Methods in Adolescents. Obesity. 2012;20(1):221–8.CrossRef

34.

Dittmar M, Reber, H. Validation of different bioimpedance analyzers for predicting cell mass against whole-body counting of potassium (40K) as a reference method. American Journal of Human Biology: The Official Journal of the Human Biology Association. 2004;16(6), 697–703.CrossRef

Title: Cortisol concentration affects fat and muscle mass among Polish children aged 6–13 years
Authors: Paulina Pruszkowska-Przybylska
Aneta Sitek
Iwona Rosset
Marta Sobalska-Kwapis
Marcin Słomka
Dominik Strapagiel
Elżbieta Żądzińska
Niels Morling
Publication date: 01-12-2021
Publisher: BioMed Central
Keywords: Obesity
Obesity
Published in: BMC Pediatrics / Issue 1/2021
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2431
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-021-02837-3

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Cortisol concentration affects fat and muscle mass among Polish children aged 6–13 years

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Trial registration

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Trial registration

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 1/2021

The association between low birth weight and dental caries among 11-to-13-year-old school age children in Ningbo, China

A multicenter study of incidence, risk factors and outcomes of babies with birth asphyxia in Nepal

Report of two siblings with spondylodysplastic Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and B4GALT7 deficiency

The full spectrum of ethical issues in pediatric genome-wide sequencing: a systematic qualitative review

Association of screen time with parent-reported cognitive delay in preschool children of Kerala, India

Bidirectional association of neurodevelopment with growth: a prospective cohort study