Scientists say a new blood test that analyses lipids could make it easier to identify children at risk of serious health problems, including type 2 diabetes, liver and heart disease.
According to researchers at King’s College London, the test addresses the link between lipids and diseases that affect metabolism in children and could serve as an early warning system for potentially life-threatening diseases.
Using machines that test the blood plasma of babies already in hospital could help doctors detect early signs of illness in children more quickly and help them start treatment, the researchers say.
The study’s lead author, Dr Cristina Legido-Quigley, said: “For decades, scientists have relied on a classification system for lipids that split them into good and bad cholesterol, but now we can use a simple blood test to assess a much wider range of lipid molecules that could serve as important early warning signs of disease.”
The development has important implications, says Legido-Quigley, group leader of systems medicine at King’s and head of systems medicine at Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen.
“In the future, this could be a completely new way to evaluate someone’s personal risk of disease. By studying how we can change lipid molecules in the body, we could even prevent metabolic diseases like diabetes altogether.”
The team’s findings were published in the journal Nature Medicine.
The findings undermine the idea that cholesterol is a major cause of complications surrounding childhood obesity. They identify new lipid molecules that contribute to health risks such as high blood pressure, but are not solely related to a child’s weight.
Lipids have traditionally been thought of as fatty acids in the body, either good or bad types of cholesterol or triglycerides. But scientists now believe the picture is more complex.
Using a technique called mass spectrometry, they discovered that there are thousands of different types of lipids in the body, each with its own function.
Using a control group of 1,300 children living with obesity, the team assessed their blood lipids. Then, 200 of them were put on the Holbaek model, a lifestyle intervention for people with obesity that is popular in Denmark, for a year.
Later measurements showed that in the intervention group, levels of lipids associated with diabetes risk, insulin resistance and blood pressure decreased, despite limited improvements in their BMI.
Dr Karolina Sulek, who conducted the analysis at Steno, said: “Early identification of children at risk of these life-threatening diseases is crucial.
“The research provides strong evidence for the great need for obesity management and gives parents the confidence to intervene in their children’s lives in a more compassionate way, and help them lose weight.”
The next step for the researchers is to understand how genetics influence lipids and what this means for metabolic diseases, and how these lipids can be modified to improve health.