Background Obesity is associated with oxidative stress, which is related to increased advanced glycation end product (AGE) formation. AGEs accumulated in skin collagen can be measured with skin autofluorescence (sAF). There are conflicting reports on the influence of obesity on sAF in adults and no data in children. Therefore, this study evaluated sAF in pediatric patients with and without obesity. Methods In this cross-sectional study, participants aged 4-18 years were included: patients with obesity (body mass index standard deviation score [BMI-SDS] >2.3) and lean controls (BMI-SDS >-1.1 to <1.1). sAF was measured using the AGE Reader®. Participants were stratified according to age (<10, ≥10 to <13, ≥13 to <15, ≥15 to <17 and ≥17 years) and skin type (I-VI). Results In total, 143 patients and 428 controls were included. In patients, there was no influence of age on sAF (p=0.09). In controls, sAF was higher in children aged <10 years compared to ≥10 to <13 and ≥13 to <15 years (p=0.02; p=0.04). Stratified by age, sAF was higher in patients compared to controls in all age categories, except <10 years of age (p<0.01), while this was not observed when stratified by skin type (p>0.05). Skin type and BMI were significant covariates for sAF. Conclusions BMI was a covariate for sAF; however, no difference in sAF was observed between children with and without obesity, stratified by skin type. Duration of obesity as well as accuracy of the AGE Reader® might explain this difference. Further research is warranted, in which patients should be matched for age and skin type.
Keywords: advanced glycation end products; children; obesity; skin autofluorescence.