Assessments of the Relationship Between Inflammatory Parameters from Complete Blood Count and Clinical Findings in Children with Obesity and Comparison with Healthy Children

Aims: We aimed to compare hematological parameters, indicators of chronic inflammation, between children with obesity and non-obesity and evaluate the relationship between these parameters and clinical findings in children with obesity. Methods: The study involved 64 children with obesity and a body mass index (BMI) exceeding two standard deviations (SDs) above the norm for their age, alongside 64 healthy children aged 9-18 years who were not suffering from any acute or chronic disease. The presence of acanthosis nigricans (AN), striae, and fatty liver disease (FLD) in children with obesity was recorded from their files. The relationship between these clinical findings and inflammatory parameters from complete blood count was evaluated. In addition, the hematological parameter results of children with non-obesity were compared with those of children with obesity. Results: The mean age of all participants was 13.3 ± 2.2 years. Eighty-one (63.3%) participants were female, and 94 patients (73.4%) were pubertal. While 37 of the patients with obesity (57.8%) had FLD and striae, the presence of AN was observed in only 34 patients (53.1%). It was found that children with obesity had higher body weight SD, height SD, BMI SD, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR), red cell distribution width (RDW), erythrocyte, leukocyte, neutrophil and platelet (PLT) counts compared with children with non-obesity (P < 0.05). RDW and erythrocyte count values were higher in children with obesity and liver adiposity (P = 0.020, P = 0.012, respectively). PLR, RDW, erythrocyte, and PLT counts were high in children with obesity and AN (respectively, P = 0.043; P = 0.011; P = 0.013; P = 0.018); and mean platelet volume values were significantly lower (P = 0.026). Conclusion: Hematological parameters such as PLR and NLR can be valuable indicators for chronic inflammation in children with obesity.