The association between elevated body mass index and wide blood chemistry panel results in apparently healthy individuals

Introduction

Blood chemistry panel is a common way to evaluate the individual health. It contains a variety of components such as fasting blood glucose test, kidney function tests, fasting lipid profile, liver tests, protein levels, electrolytes and more. These tests are usually performed as part of periodic health examinations in order to identify subjects at increased risk and early signs of disease such as dyslipidemia, diabetes mellites, nutritional deficiencies and kidney or liver disease.

Body mass index (BMI) evaluation is also an important part of the periodic health examination. ^{, , ,} By the current United State Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) criteria, a BMI 18.5-24.9 kg/m ² is considered as normal weight, while 25–29.9kg/m ² is considered as overweight and BMI ≥30kg/m ² is considered obese. ^, Today, obesity is a significant public health concern, and its occurrence has reached an epidemic proportion in both developing as well as developed countries. Overweight and obesity are associated with higher rates of comorbidities such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, cardio-vascular disease and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Several studies have indicated that overweight and obesity are associated with biochemical profile abnormalities, including elevated triglyceride and non-HDL cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, elevated C- Reactive Protein (CRP), and elevated fasting blood glucose.