Zainab Qassim Mohammed Hilo

Background: Giardiasis is an intestinal parasitism infection, which is common in children and is often linked to malnutrition, immune regulatory devices, and fluctuations in the severity of the condition.

Aims of the study: This research was conducted to assess the use of serum adipokines as predictors of the severity of the disease in children with giardiasis, namely leptin and adiponectin, the relationship between them and the manifestations of the disease and nutrition status.

Methodology: The study was a hospital-based case-control study and was carried out between February 10th and August 1st, 2025 and involved 120 children, 80 of whom had giardiasis confirmed by laboratory tests and 40 healthy controls. Microscopic stool examination methods were used in the diagnosis of giardiasis and the severity of the disease was classified as mild, moderate, or severe. Venous blood was taken and the levels of serum leptin and adiponectin assessed by ELISA. The relationship between adipokines, nutritional status and disease severity were determined.

Result: The giardiasis children did not vary significantly with controls in terms of age or sex and had a higher rate of rural residence and a more severely low BMI, which suggests exposure of the environment and nutritional maladjustment. The analysis of serum adipokines showed that the adiponectin and leptin levels in patients were considerably lower. The alterations became stronger as the disease worsened, and the levels of leptin declined and adiponectin rose with every worsening step. Strong links between adipokines and BMI, diarrhea length, weight loss and severity of the disease were supported by correlation analysis, which validates their predictive clinical importance.

Conclusions: The adipokine imbalance, which is marked by low leptin levels and high adiponectin levels, in children with giardiasis is caused by malnutrition, immune dysregulation, and chronic inflammation of the intestine. These changes are closely associated with disease severity, which contributes to adipokines being good and reliable biomarkers in terms of assessing clinical progression.

DOI: 10.22271/23940522.2025.v12.i6b.1155

Pages: 92-96  |  71 Views  36 Downloads