Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome in Middle School Children and Evaluation of Components of Metabolic Syndrome

Özet

Objectives: This study was designed to determine the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) in Turkish children and to examinethe relationship between MS components in this age group.Methods: A total of 395 students in Istanbul aged 10 to 14 years in the 2004-2005 school year were enrolled in the study. Bodyweight, height, waist circumference, hip circumference, and systolic-diastolic blood pressure were measured. Of the total, 353provided blood samples for analysis of fasting glucose level, basal insulin, total cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein(HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) levels. Modified World Health Organization criteriawere used for the diagnosis of MS.Results: In this study, 44.5% of the children were female and 55.5% were male. The mean body mass index (BMI) was 20.57±3.48kg/m², 10.4% (n=41) were overweight, and 12.7% (n=50) were obese. MS was diagnosed in 0.85% of the entire study group andin 6% of the obese children. There was a positive correlation between BMI and waist circumference (p<0.001), waist/hip ratio(p<0.001), systolic blood pressure (p<0.001), diastolic blood pressure (p<0.001), basal insulin level (p<0.001), homeostasis modelassessment of insulin resistance (p<0.001), triglyceride value (p<0.001), total cholesterol level (p<0.05), LDL (p<0.001), and VLDLlevel (p<0.001), and a negative correlation with HDL level (p<0.001).Conclusion: The study results confirmed that MS is present in children and not limited to adults, and this is an important healthproblem. The prevalence of MS is more common in obese children. Therefore, early diagnosis of obese children and examinationof cardiovascular risk factors and metabolic syndrome criteria is very important.