The Prevalence Of Overweight And Obesity In Preschoolers In Fujian Province And Its Association With CircRNAs

Objective Our study aimed to understand the prevalence of among preschool children in Fujian Province and the physical development of preschoolers during the epidemic period of Novel coronavirus pneumonia(COVID-19),explore the environmental factors associated with overweight/obesity of preschool children,which could provide a theoretical basis for formulating prevention and control strategies for overweight and obesity among preschool children.Then we explored the association between specific circ RNAs and obesity in preschool children and further to predict their possible biological functions,so as to provide ideas for the study of epigenetic mechanisms of childhood obesity.Methods1.Using stratified cluster random sampling method to carry out the epidemiological investigation of overweight and obesity among preschool children from eight cities of Fujian Province,so as to understand the prevalence of overweight and obesity among preschoolers in non-epidemic period of Fujian Province.2.The method of random cluster sampling was used to investigate the physical development of preschoolers during the epidemic period of COVID-19.The development of weight,height and BMI of preschoolers during the epidemic was analyzed and compared with that in the non-epidemic period.3.Overweight and obese children screened from the provincial epidemiological survey were selected as the research subjects,with normal-weight preschoolers as the control.The relevant data of the selected children were collected and the generalized linear mixed model was used to analyze the environmental factors associated with overweight and obesity in preschool children.4.Circ RNAs related to obesity in preschool children were preliminarily screened by literature review,previous study and q RT-PCR.Using case-control method to verify the expression of target circ RNAs in children’s peripheral blood.The association between circ RNAs and obesity in preschool children was investigated by multivariate logistic regression and ROC curve.Bioinformatics method was used to predict mi RNAs combined with circ RNA and their downstream target genes.GO and KEGG methods were used to analyze their possible biological functions.Results1.The prevalence of overweight among preschoolers in Fujian Province were 10.2%and 6.6%,respectively.The prevalence of obesity was higher than the national level.There was no significant difference in the prevalence of overweight and obesity between urban and suburban areas,and the overweight and obesity rates of coastal areas were higher than that of mountainous areas.The detection rates of overweight and obesity in boys(11.5% and 8.0%)were higher than those in girls(10.2% and4.8%).The prevalence of overweight and obesity among preschool children in Fujian Province increased with age,and the detection rate of obesity both in boys and girls increased rapidly after 4 years old.2.During the epidemic period,the overweight rate(18.6%)in the 4-year-old group was higher than that during normal period(12.6%),and the detection rates of overweight and obesity in the 5-year-old group were 15.5% and 9.9%,which were higher than those in normal period(11.4% and 6.0%).Compared with baseline data,the increase in weight and BMI of children aged 4 and 5 was greater than that in normal periods.3.The risk factors for obesity in preschool children in Fujian province included boy,aged 5 and 6,grandparents as main caregivers,parents with overweight or obesity,frequency of father’s constant company,high birth weight,second-born,premature birth or retarded birth,cesarean section,supplementary feeding too early or too late,lack of activity and sleep,long screen time,strong appetite,eating too fast,often eating western fast-food,often drinking sugary beverages,raising people believing that obesity was harmless,high per capita disposable income.Mother’s constant company,mother with a master’s degree and frequent fruit consumption were the protective factors for childhood obesity.Risk factors for childhood overweight included boy,aged 5 and 6,grandparents as main caregivers,parents with overweight or obesity,father with a master’s degree,high birth weight,long screen time,strong appetite,eating too fast,raising people believing that obesity was harmless.Breastfeeding,often running and jumping were protective factors for childhood overweight.There was an interaction between short sleep duration and activity time on childhood obesity.Short sleep duration interacted with screen time and appetite on children’s overweight and obesity.4.There was no significant difference in the expression of hsa＿circ＿0001946 and circ ANKRD36 in the peripheral blood between the childhood obesity group and the control.The expression of hsa＿circ＿0046367 and hsa＿circ＿0000284 had statistical difference between two groups.Hsa＿circ＿0046367(OR=0.681,95%CI: 0.480～0.967)and hsa＿circ＿0000284(OR=1.218,95%CI:1.041～1.424)were associated with childhood obesity.The area under the ROC curve in the combined analysis of hsa＿circ＿0046367 and hsa＿circ＿0000284 was 0.706(95%CI:0.623～0.789).The biological functions of circ RNAs mainly involved calcium ion regulation and calmodulin binding by bioinformatics analysis,as they may be associated with the MAPK signaling pathway and other mechanisms.Conclusion1.The situation is grim for the high prevalence of obesity among preschool children in Fujian Province.The prevalence of obesity in boys and children aged 5 and 6 was high,so it is necessary to take targeted prevention and control measures to curb the prevalence of obesity in preschoolers.2.The COVID-19 would promote the prevalence of overweight and obesity among preschool children.Children aged 4 and 5 were at higher risk of becoming overweight and obese during the epidemic.3.The prevalence of overweight and obesity among preschool children in Fujian Province was affected by a variety of environmental factors.The incidence of obesity in children was associated with regional economic development and individual factors such as gender,age,primary caregivers and parenting attitudes,parents’ situation,birth situation,lifestyle and dietary habit.We should pay close attention to the prevention and control of obesity among preschoolers for boys,age of 5 or 6 years old,strong appetite and second-born.4.After controlling for other environmental factors,the low expression of hsa＿circ＿0046367 and the high expression of hsa＿circ＿0000284 were independent influential factors for obesity in preschool children.Circ RNAs may be involved in development of preschoolers’ obesity.