Childhood Adiposity Associated With Expanded Effector Memory CD8+ and Vδ2+Vγ9+T Cells

Context: Adult obesity is associated with chronic low-grade inflammation and may give rise to future chronic disease. However, it is unclear whether adiposity-related inflammation is already apparent in childhood. Objective: To study associations between child adiposity measures with circulating monocytes and naive and memory subsets in CD4, CD8, and gamma delta T cell lineages. Methods: Ten-year-old children (n = 890) from the Generation R Cohort underwent dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry and magnetic resonance imaging for body composition (body mass index [BMI], fat mass index [FMI], android-to-gynoid fat mass ratio, visceral fat index, liver fat fraction). Blood samples were taken for detailed immunophenotyping of leukocytes by 11-color flow cytometry. Results: Several statistically significant associations were observed. A 1-SD increase in total FMI was associated with +8.4% (95% CI 2.0, 15.2) V delta 2(+)V gamma 9(+) and +7.4% (95% CI 2.4, 12.5) CD8(TEMRO)(+) cell numbers. A 1-SD increase in visceral fat index was associated with +10.7% (95% CI 3.3, 18.7) V delta 2(+)V gamma 9(+) and +8.3% (95% CI 2.6, 14.4) CD8(TEMRO)(+) cell numbers. Higher android-to-gynoid fat mass ratio was only associated with higher V delta 2(+)V gamma 9(+) T cells. Liver fat was associated with higher CD8(TEMRO)(+) cells but not with V delta 2(+)V gamma 9(+) T cells. Only liver fat was associated with lower Th17 cell numbers: a 1-SD increase was associated with -8.9% (95% CI -13.7, -3.7) Th17 cells. No associations for total CD8(+), CD4(+) T cells, or monocytes were observed. BMI was not associated with immune cells. Conclusion: Higher V delta 2(+)V gamma 9(+) and CD8(TEMRO)(+) cell numbers in children with higher visceral fat index could reflect presence of adiposity-related inflammation in children with adiposity of a general population.

Automated summary

The study found significant associations between child adiposity measures and specific immune cell subsets, particularly with visceral fat index. Excessive fat in children may already indicate the presence of adiposity-related inflammation.