Effect of Obesity on Soluble Vascular Cell-Adhesion Molecules, Fibrinogen, and von Willebrand Factor Antigen among Obese People in Sapele, Southern Nigeria

Background/Objective: In obese people, adipose tissue accumulates to the extent of having an adverse effect on certain procoagulant factors, such as: soluble vascular cell-adhesion molecules (sVCAMs), fibrinogen (Fg), and von Willebrand factor antigen (vWFAg). This study thus aimed to evaluate the impacts of obesity on sVCAMs, Fg, and vWFAg in obese adults in Sapele, southern Nigeria. Methods: A total of 312 obese adults and 103 controls aged 18-65 years were enrolled for this study. Venous blood (4.5 mL) was collected into EDTA containers for measurement of Fg, vWFAg, and sVCAMs using ELISA method. Data were analyzed using Student's t-test, correlations, and one-way ANOVA followed by least significant difference post hoc tests on Microsoft Excel 2010 and SPSS 21.0, and results were expressed as means +/- SD. Results: Mean body-mass index of obese and control (non-obese) subjects was 36.82 +/- 0.55 kg/m(2) and 20.43 +/- 0.29 kg/m,(2) respectively (P<0.001). Mean Fg in obese subjects was 78.45 +/- 13.79 ng/ml and in the control group 40.00 +/- 2.55 ng/ml. Mean vWFAg in obese subjects was 85.63 +/- 7.00u/l and in control subjects 59.02 +/- 2.48u/l . Mean sVCAM counts in obese and control subjects were 7.53 +/- 0.96Iu/l and 4.16 +/- 0.19u/l, respectively (P<0.01). Conclusion: Fg, vWFAg, and sVCAM levels were higher in obese people than the nonobese.