Relationship of Anthropometric Measures with Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Children and Adolescents

This national study was performed to establish the relationship of anthropometric measures with cardiovascular risk factors and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in Albanian normal-weight children and adolescents. We examined the data of 3,548 children and adolescents (48.2% boys), aged 11-18 years, with a normal BMI (5th-84th percentile) achieved from a survey of 'Childhood and Adolescence Surveillance and Prevention of Adult Non-communicable Disease'. The diagnostic criteria for MetS were classified by the International Diabetes Federation agreement. The prevalence of MetS for 10- to 13.5-year-old boys, 14- to 18-year-old boys, 10- to 13.7-year-old girls, and 14- to 18-year-old girls were 1.3, 2.4, 2.1, and 3.2%, correspondingly. After adjustment for age and sex, each item increase in BMI (within normal range) and waist circumference enhanced the odds of MetS from 5 to 68 % and from 1 to 18 %, respectively. The principal model of dyslipidemia between the participants was high triglycerides and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. This study sets off current research about the high frequency of metabolic risk factors among normal-weight individuals in the pediatric age group. DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2014.v3n4p145