Serum Ghrelin Levels in Saudi Obese Asthmatic School-Children—Correlation with Interleukin-4, Interleukin-5, and Interleukin-21

Mohammed Saeed Al-Ayed, Khaled Sadeq Al-Shaibari, Dhafer Alshehri, Mohammed Jamaan Alzahrani, Iman Nasser, Hamdan Saad Alaamri, Wed Ahmad Alaseeri, Ahmed A. Mahfouz, Saeed Ali Alsareii, Ahmed Morad Asaad, Aamir Magzoub, Mohammed Ansar Qureshi, Ehab Elagab, Elhashimi Eltayb Hassan and Mohammed Helmy Faris Shalayel
Additional contact information
Mohammed Saeed Al-Ayed: Departments of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Najran University, Najran P.O. Box 1988, Saudi Arabia
Khaled Sadeq Al-Shaibari: Departments of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Najran University, Najran P.O. Box 1988, Saudi Arabia
Dhafer Alshehri: Departments of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Najran University, Najran P.O. Box 1988, Saudi Arabia
Mohammed Jamaan Alzahrani: Departments of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Najran University, Najran P.O. Box 1988, Saudi Arabia
Iman Nasser: Departments of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Najran University, Najran P.O. Box 1988, Saudi Arabia
Hamdan Saad Alaamri: Ministry of Defense, Armed Forces Medical Services, Najran, Saudi Arabia
Wed Ahmad Alaseeri: Ministry of Health, Najran 11176, Saudi Arabia
Ahmed A. Mahfouz: Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha 62529, Saudi Arabia
Saeed Ali Alsareii: Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, Najran University, Najran P.O. Box 1988, Saudi Arabia
Ahmed Morad Asaad: Department of Microbiology, Zagazig University, ‎Ash Sharqiyah 44519, Egypt
Aamir Magzoub: Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, Najran University, Najran P.O. Box 1988, Saudi Arabia
Mohammed Ansar Qureshi: Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Najran University, Najran P.O. Box 1988, Saudi Arabia
Ehab Elagab: Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Najran University, Najran P.O. Box 1988, Saudi Arabia
Elhashimi Eltayb Hassan: Department of Clinical Biochemistry, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Najran University, Najran P.O. Box 1988, Saudi Arabia
Mohammed Helmy Faris Shalayel: University of Hafr Al-Batin, Hafr Albatin 39524, Saudi Arabia

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 5, 1-11

Abstract: Ghrelin is a peptide hormone with direct or indirect effects on obesity and asthma. More data are required to understand the effect of ghrelin on the control and pathogenesis of these diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate ghrelin levels in selected groups of children to identify the association between serum ghrelin, obesity, and the severity of asthma. The study included 401 school children selected from the Najran area and grouped into non-obese asthmatics, obese asthmatics, obese non-asthmatics and controls (non-obese non-asthmatics). Blood levels of ghrelin, interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5 and IL-21 were determined by ELISA. The mean ghrelin values were insignificantly increased in obese children compared with non-obese children. The highest blood ghrelin values were in the non-obese asthmatic group. Serum ghrelin, IL-4 and IL-21 levels were significantly increased in asthmatic children compared with non-asthmatic children ( p < 0.05), and there were significant positive correlations between ghrelin and IL-4, IL-5, and IL-21 in asthmatic children. Furthermore, ghrelin, IL-4, and IL-21 levels were significantly higher in uncontrolled asthmatics compared with controlled-asthmatic children ( p < 0.05). Asthma was the only significant risk factor for high ghrelin values. This study provides evidence supporting the anti-inflammatory role of ghrelin in the pathogenesis of asthma. Asthma might be considered as an important determinant of high ghrelin values in children.

Keywords: ghrelin; interleukin-4 (IL-4); interleukin-5 (IL-5); interleukin-21 (IL-21), obesity; asthma (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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