Paediatric Metabolic Syndrome and Associated Anthropometric Indices: The Caspian Study Publisher Pubmed



Kelishadi R^{1, 5} ; Ardalan G² ; Gheiratmand R² ; Adeli K³ ; Delavari A² ; Majdzadeh R⁴
Source: Acta Paediatrica, International Journal of Paediatrics Published:2006

Abstract

Aim: To determine the prevalence of paediatric metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its best predictive anthropometric index. Methods: This national study was conducted among 4811 students (2248 boys and 2563 girls) aged 6-18 y. This is the first study of its kind in Iran and, to our knowledge, in Asia as well. Two definitions were used for the MetS: type A was defined based on criteria analogous to ATP III, and type B was defined according to the cut-offs obtained from NHANES III. Both types A and B define high fasting blood sugar as > 100 mg/dl and systolic/diastolic blood pressure as > 90th percentile. Results: The mean (SD) age of students studied was 12.07 ± 3.2 y. MetS type A was seven times more prevalent than type B (14% vs 2%, respectively, p < 0.0001), and had no significant gender difference. The most frequent components of both definitions of the MetS were low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and high triglyceride (TG). Waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) had the strongest and weakest associations, respectively, with the MetS. Conclusion: Establishment of a uniform set of criteria for the MetS in children is needed. Routine WC measurement in the paediatric population may be clinically useful. © 2006 Taylor & Francis.