Relationship between alpha-2-macroglobulin,
anthropometric parameters and lipid profiles in Thai
overweight and obese in Bangkok
Rungsunn Tungtrongchitr
a
, Praneet Pongpaew
a
, Niyomsri Vudhivai
a
,
Supranee Changbumrung
a
, Anchalee Tungtrongchitr
b
, Benjaluck Phonrat
c
,
Duangkamol Viroonudomphol
a
, Somchai Pooudong
a
, Frank Peter Schelp
d,
*
a
Department of Nutrition and Food Science, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University,
Bangkok, Thailand
b
Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
c
Department of Clinical Tropical Medicine, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University,
Bangkok, Thailand
d
Institute of International Health, Centre for Humanities and of Health Sciences, Free University Berlin and
Humboldt University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Received 1 May 2002; received in revised form 15 November 2002; accepted 20 November 2002
Abstract
The aim of this study was to assess anthropometric variables and the lipid pattern in relation to
alpha-2-macroglobulin in normal- and over-nourished Thai individuals, to further support the hypoth-
esis that alpha-2-macroglobulin plays a beneficial role in the determination of nutritional status. The
study sample comprised of 48 male and 166 female overweight and obese Thai volunteers and 26 male
and 81 female normal subjects. The overweight individuals had statistically significant lower alpha-
2-macroglobulin (A2M) serum levels. The total serum cholesterol, low density lipoprotein-cholesterol
(LDL-C) and triglycerides were significantly higher and high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C)
lower in the over-nourished group as compared with the normal subjects. The LDL/HDL ratio was
slightly but significantly higher in the over-nourished group, but still well below the value of 5 for both
groups. In using a stepwise multiple linear regression, the model, which best explained the variation
of A2M for all individuals including age, HDL-C, BMI, and gender. The relationship of A2M to the
variables under study differed between males and females. For males, a model which includes
cholesterol and BMI explained best the variation of the proteinase inhibitor. For the females, the best
* Corresponding author. Tel.: ϩ49-30-84451281; fax: ϩ49-30-84451280.
E-mail address: schelp@zedat.fu-berlin.de (F.P. Schelp).
www.elsevier.com/locate/nutres
Nutrition Research 23 (2003) 1143–1152
0271-5317/03/$ – see front matter © 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/S0271-5317(02)00529-8