SEX- AND AGE-RELATED FEATURES OF ENDOTHELIN-1 LEVELS IN CHILDREN INFECTED WITH SARS-COV-2
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11603/24116-4944.2025.2.15818Keywords:
endothelin-1, COVID-19, MIS-C, childrenAbstract
The aim of the study − to determine age- and sex-related differences in endothelin-1 (ET-1) levels in children with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).
Materials and Methods. The study included 200 children with COVID-19 and 40 children with MIS-C. The median age of patients with COVID-19 was 3.00 (0.75; 9.00) years, whereas in the MIS-C group it was 7.50 (3.88; 10.00) years (p<0.05). The groups did not differ by sex distribution (p>0.05). ET-1 concentrations were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with the Human ET-1 (Endothelin-1) ELISA Kit.
Results and Discussion. ET-1 levels in children with MIS-C (25.76 (18.41; 33.75) pg/mL) were significantly higher than in those with acute SARS-CoV-2 infection (9.95 (5.66; 12.96) pg/mL) (p<0.001). In the MIS-C group, boys had significantly higher ET-1 levels compared with girls − 31.50 (22.27; 39.75) pg/mL and 15.22 (10.43; 22.09) pg/mL, respectively (p<0.05). No sex-related differences were found in the COVID-19 group (p>0.05). Among children with COVID-19, ET-1 levels increased with age (B=1.34; SE=0.66; p=0.047). In the MIS-C group, both male sex (B=-25.41; SE=8.06; p=0.007) and older age (B=11.10; SE=3.14; p=0.003) were associated with higher ET-1 concentrations.
Conclusions. The study results demonstrated significantly higher ET-1 levels in children with MIS-C compared with those with COVID-19. The data highlight the important role of sex and age factors in the development of endothelial dysfunction in pediatric patients with COVID-19 and MIS-C, which may have practical implications for predicting endothelial involvement in children.
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