Early blood protein clues could identify children at risk of cardiometabolic disease

Researchers at Vanderbilt Health, UTHealth Houston, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have discovered early indicators of cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic disease (CKMD) in children as young as 8 years old. These markers, which can potentially be reversed using a specific class of weight-loss drugs commonly used in adults, were identified through advanced analytical techniques.

The study, published in Nature Metabolism, analyzed 273 children and adolescents from the Border Health Research Cohort in Cameron County, Texas, and found that over a third exhibited signs of cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic disease, including obesity, hypertension, insulin resistance, and abnormal lipid levels. The researchers used machine-learning algorithms to identify proteomic signatures of CKMD, which were also observed in 685 adults from the same community and in over 28,000 adults in the UK Biobank.

Notably, these disease-associated proteins in adults have been shown to decrease in response to treatment with semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist used for type 2 diabetes and obesity management. While the benefits of this therapy in adults have been widely recognized, the researchers emphasize the need to consider potential risks.

They stress the importance of continuing efforts to combat childhood obesity through exercise, diet, and weight-loss interventions, as these findings suggest that proteomic signatures could help identify children at highest risk and enable targeted, precision medicine interventions.