Association of neonatal metrics, metabolic risk factors, and metal levels in children with obesity.

The neonatal period is highly susceptible to metabolic impairments that may persist throughout lifespan and predispose to increased obesity risk and related complications. During these first stages of life, trace elements and heavy metals play a central role in regulating health status and participating in obesity pathophysiology. Thus, we hypothesize that neonatal metrics might serve as reliable predictors of obesity-related metal alterations occurring later in childhood. This study relies on a population comprising children with obesity (N = 79, age range: 6–14 years), from whom birth metrics (i.e., gestational age, length, and weight at birth) were registered from medical records and blood samples were collected to evaluate classical metabolic markers (insulin and glucose metabolism, inflammatory status) and metal biodistribution by inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Interestingly, higher gestational age and length at birth were associated with lower inflammation, insulinemia, and glycemia in childhood, as well as with lower levels of toxic heavy metals (i.e., arsenic, cadmium, lead) and greater levels of essential trace elements (i.e., zinc, selenium). Conversely, higher body mass index at birth predicted exacerbated failures in glucose homeostasis and an unfavorable multi-elemental profile, as reflected in negative associations with minerals involved in endocrine control (i.e., zinc, chromium, molybdenum, selenium). In summary, this study supports that even slight deviations in neonatal parameters might influence metabolic health later in life, considering both classical clinical markers (e.g., insulin resistance, inflammation) and complementary metallomics assessments.