Association of human adenovirus-36 in overweight Korean adults

• Published in: International Journal of Obesity Vol. 36; no. 2; pp. 281 - 285
• Main Authors: Na, H-N, Kim, J, Lee, H S, Shim, K W, Kimm, H, Jee, S H, Jo, I, Nam, J-H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.02.2012; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: Adenovirus diseases; Adenovirus Infections, Human - blood; Adenovirus Infections, Human - complications; Adenovirus Infections, Human - epidemiology; Adenovirus Infections, Human - immunology; Adenoviruses; Adenoviruses, Human - immunology; Adipocytes; Adult; Adults; Antibodies; Asian Continental Ancestry Group - statistics & numerical data; Biological and medical sciences; Biomarkers - blood; Body Mass Index; Cardiovascular disease; Case-Control Studies; Cholesterol; Cholesterol, HDL - blood; Complications and side effects; Cross-Sectional Studies; Epidemiology; Female; Health aspects; Health promotion; Health Promotion and Disease Prevention; Humans; Internal Medicine; Male; Medical sciences; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metabolic Diseases; Middle Aged; Neutralization; Nutrition research; Obesity; Obesity - virology; Odds Ratio; original-article; Overweight; Overweight - blood; Overweight - epidemiology; Overweight - immunology; Overweight - virology; Population; Prevalence; Public Health; Republic of Korea - epidemiology; Risk Factors; Task forces; Triglycerides - blood; Asia; Korea; Republic of Korea; South Korea; United States > US; human adenovirus-36; overweight; Korean adults; Human; Obesity; Adenoviridae; Nutrition; Body weight; Nutrition disorder; Korean; Metabolic diseases; Corporal biometry; Overweight; Virus; Association; Human adenovirus; Mastadenovirus; Adult; Nutritional status
• ISSN: 0307-0565; 1476-5497
• DOI: 10.1038/ijo.2011.102

Background: Although human adenovirus-36 (Ad-36) has been reported to be associated with obesity in US adults and children, Korean children and the Italian population, the association has not been found in Dutch or Belgian populations or in US military subjects. Therefore, we examined whether Ad-36 infection is associated with obesity in Korean adults. Methods: A total of 540 age- and sex-matched individuals, who were normal weight, overweight or obese, were selected from participants in routine health examinations at the Ewha Womans University Medical Center. Overweight participants were defined as those with a body mass index (BMI) of 23⩽BMI<25 kg m −2 and obese subjects were those with BMI⩾25 kg m −2 , according to the International Obesity Task Force definition. Ad-36 antibody was measured using a serum neutralization assay. Results: Although more overweight participants than normal or obese subjects tested positive for the Ad-36 antibody (40%, 32.8% and 30%, respectively), the differences were not significant. The participants who tested positive for Ad-36 antibody had lower levels of triglycerides (TG) in each of the three groups, higher total cholesterol (TC) in the obese group and higher high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) in both the normal and obese groups. The odds ratio (OR) for Ad-36 antibody positivity was greater in overweight than in normal subjects (OR=2.03; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.16–3.55) after adjusting for age, sex and waist circumference. However, this OR was non-significant in the obese group (OR=1.56; 95% CI, 0.67–3.67). Conclusion: Ad-36 seems to be strongly associated with overweight, but not obese, Korean adults.