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ObjectivesTo address molecular mechanisms underlying obesity development, we examined patterns of critical metabolism-related hormones, adiponectin and leptin (adipokines), over childhood.Subjects and DesignPlasma adiponectin and leptin were measured in 80 Mexican-American children at birth and again at 2, 5, and 9 years from the ongoing prospective cohort followed by the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS). We used a mixture modeling approach to identify patterns in adipokine trajectories from birth to 9 years.ResultsLeptin was positively related to child body size within all ages, however adiponectin had inverse and weaker associations with BMI at 2, 5, and 9 years. Correlations between adipokine levels over the 0–2, 2–5, and 5–9-year periods increased for both leptin (r = 0.06, 0.31 and 0.62) and adiponectin (r = 0.25, 0.41 and 0.46). Our mixture modeling approach identified three trajectory clusters for both leptin (1L [slowly-rising], 2L [rapidly-rising], and 3L [stable]) and adiponectin (1A [steep-dropping and rebounding], 2A [moderately-dropping], and 3A [stable]). While leptin groups were most separated over the 2–9-year period, adiponectin trajectories displayed greatest heterogeneity from birth to 2 years. Children in the rapidly-rising 2L group had highest BMI and waist circumference at 9 years. Further, children with greater birth weight had increased odds of belonging to this high risk group (OR = 1.21 95% CI 1.03, 1.43, compared to stable group 3L). Children whose mothers consumed more sugar-sweetened beverages during pregnancy were at risk of being in the steep-dropping 1A group (OR = 1.08, 95% CI 1.01, 1.17, compared to stable group 3A).ConclusionOur results highlight developmental differences in leptin and adiponectin over the childhood period. Leptin closely reflects child body size however factors affecting adiponectin and long-term consequences of its changes over infancy need to be further explored.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a high volume production chemical that has been detected in 93% of the United States population. It is thought to have endocrine disrupting activity but human data are limited. In this study, we examined whether prenatal or concurrent urinary BPA concentrations are associated with key metabolism-related hormones, adiponectin and leptin (adipokines), in 9-year-old children. For this analysis, we used 188 mother-child pairs from the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS) prospective study. BPA was measured in urinary spot samples during early (12.6±3.9 weeks gestation) and late (26.3±2.5 weeks gestation) pregnancy and in 9-year-old children. We found that BPA concentrations during late pregnancy were associated with increased plasma leptin in boys (β = 0.06, P = 0.01), controlling for maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), pregnancy soda consumption and smoking, years in U.S. prior to pregnancy, maternal education, household poverty status, child BMI and child soda, fast food and sweet snack consumption at 9 years. Additionally, we found that BPA concentrations during early pregnancy are directly associated with plasma adiponectin levels in girls (β = 3.71, P = 0.03). However, we did not find any significant relationships between concurrent BPA concentrations and 9-year child adiponectin or leptin. Overall, our data suggest that prenatal BPA concentrations may influence adipokine levels in 9-year-old children.