Research Information System
HORMONE RESEARCH IN PAEDIATRICS, vol.81, no.1, pp.20-24, 2014 (SCI-Expanded)
Background and Aim: Accelerated weight gain after (adeno) tonsillectomy has been reported in a number of studies. Whether (adeno) tonsillectomy is also a risk factor for development of overweight is unknown. We investigated serum leptin and plasma ghrelin levels before and 1 year after (adeno) tonsillectomy operation in children. Materials and Methods: We studied 31 patients and 29 age- and sex-matched healthy control children. Auxologic evaluation and biochemical investigations were performed before surgery and 1 year later. Results: One year after surgery, height SDS (p = 0.001) and weight SDS (p = 0.004) were significantly increased in both groups. No changes in BMI SDS (p = 0.105) were observed. Preoperative leptin levels were significantly higher in patients than controls (p < 0.001). IGF-1, IGFBP-3, HOMA-IR and ghrelin values were not significantly different between the groups. One year after surgery, IGF-1 (p = 0.001) and IGFBP-3 (p = 0.001) were significantly increased, while ghrelin (p < 0.001) was significantly decreased. Postoperative leptin levels of patients were also significantly higher than preoperative values (p = 0.036). Conclusion: Significantly higher leptin levels in patients compared to control both before and 1 year after an obstruction-relieving surgery suggested that higher levels might be due to leptin resistance in these patients. Based on our findings we recommend measurement of leptin levels longitudinally for at least 5 years after adenotonsillectomy. (C) 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel