Human adenovirus-36 seropositivity and obesity among Midwestern US adolescents

• Published in: International journal of adolescent medicine and health Vol. 32; no. 3
• Main Authors: Tosh, Aneesh K., Wasserman, Mollie G., McLeay II, Matthew T., Tepe, Sara K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany De Gruyter 23.11.2017; Walter de Gruyter GmbH
• Subjects: adenovirus; Adenoviruses; adolescent; Antibodies; Obesity; Teenagers; United States > US; Missouri; adolescent; obesity; adenovirus
• ISSN: 0334-0139; 2191-0278
• DOI: 10.1515/ijamh-2017-0126

Objective Human adenovirus-36 (Ad-36) infection has been implicated as a risk factor for obesity. This study aims to measure Ad-36 antibody prevalence among obese and healthy-weight Midwestern US adolescents. Methods Obese and healthy-weight subjects 10-18 years of age attending an adolescent clinic in Missouri, USA, were tested for Ad-36 antibodies via ELISA assay. All subjects were measured for height and weight to determine body mass index (BMI). χ2 analysis was used to compare Ad-36 antibody prevalence between the two groups. Results Ad-36 antibodies were tested on 41 obese and 37 control subjects. The subjects' mean age at the time of sample collection was 15.6 years (SD 2.0). Ad-36 antibody prevalence was 43.9% among the obese group and 21.6% among the control group (p = 0.038). Discussion The findings show that statistically more obese Missouri adolescents test positive for Ad-36 antibodies than their healthy-weight peers, consistent with previous findings suggesting a correlation between Ad-36 infection and obesity.