Aim
To assess the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) components in overweight or obese children and adolescents, as well as analyze the risk factors of its occurrence.
Material and methods
The study was conducted in a group of 70 children and adolescents aged 5-18 hospitalized in the Department of Gastroenterology, Allergology and Pediatrics, Polish Mother’s Memorial Hospital – Research Institute in Lodz (Poland) based on the results of medical histories, physical examination, biochemical investigation, and calculation of the Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) index.
Results
MS was diagnosed in 14 children (20%). The most common abnormalities besides obesity included: decreased High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (HDL-C) levels (n=13, 92.9%), increased triglycerides (TG) concentrations (n=10, 71.4%) and arterial hypertension (n=10, 71,4%). Among all the children, insulin resistance was diagnosed in 29 subjects (41.4%). The results of univariate logistic regression showed that the occurrence of lipid disorders, obesity, hypertension and diabetes in their parents, as well as the duration of pregnancy, birth weight, or breastfeeding were not associated with the risk of MS development in the subjects (p>0.05). However, in the study group, 92.9% of subjects had one or more particular risk factor for MS development.
Conclusions
Besides visceral obesity, lipid disorders were the most frequently observed components of MS in the subjects analyzed, which may have prognostic significance. The occurrence of one or more MS risk factors in almost all of the children studied indicates the increased risk of cardiovascular diseases in the studied group in the future.
