ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Nutritional Immunology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1650705
Food-Specific IgG Antibodies and Body Mass Index: Multivariate Analysis of Clinical Correlations in Underweight Populations
Provisionally accepted
- Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Shenzhen ，Guangdong, China
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Background: This study investigates the relationship between food-specific IgG antibodies and nutritional status in underweight populations, addressing a critical gap in existing research focused predominantly on obesity. It aims to elucidate immune-mediated mechanisms linking food intolerance to abnormal body composition through multidimensional statistical modeling. Methods: A retrospective analysis of 1,237 underweight patients (BMI <18.5 kg/m²) included IgG antibody profiling for food antigens (ELISA) and clinical/demographic data. Statistical methods encompassed Spearman correlations, linear regression, factor analysis, and generalized linear models (adjusted for age, gender, comorbidities). Child (n=421) and adult (n=816) cohorts were analyzed separately using R 4.3.0 and GraphPad Prism 9.0. Results: In children, wheat-specific IgG levels showed a robust inverse correlation with BMI-for-age Z-scores (BAZ) (β = -0.319 to -0.357, p ≤0.010), explaining 2.18% of BAZ variance. Factor analysis identified a food sensitivity component (wheat/soy IgG loadings: 0.643–0.654) correlating with BAZ (r = 0.349). Adults exhibited significant inverse associations between soybean IgG and BMI (β = -1.1085, p = 0.0003), explaining 1.67% of variance. Bilirubin metabolism (factor loadings: 0.899–0.991) and hepatic function markers (ALT/GGT: r = 0.372–0.425) showed strong BMI correlations. Cluster analysis revealed distinct IgG profiles, with underweight subgroups demonstrating elevated wheat (p = 0.001) and soybean (OR = 2.4, p < 0.001) sensitization. Conclusion: Food-specific IgG profiles, particularly wheat and soybean antibodies, are independently associated with nutritional status in underweight populations. These findings suggest immune-mediated pathways may contribute to malabsorption and metabolic dysregulation, supporting IgG testing for personalized dietary interventions. Study limitations include small subgroup sizes, underscoring the need for mechanistic research integrating gut microbiota analysis.
Keywords: food intolerance, IgG antibodies, Body Mass Index, Underweight, Chroniclow-gradeinflammation, Nutritionalbiomarkers, Clusteranalysis, Personalized dietary interventions
Received: 20 Jun 2025; Accepted: 29 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zeng, Zeng, Li, Song, Huang, Xie, Zeng and Yuan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Yaochi Zeng, 499104430@qq.com
Yao-Chi Zeng, 49914430@qq.com
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