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Longitudinal birth cohort study found that a significant proportion of children had abnormal metabolic profiles and insulin resistance at 6 years of age
Author(s) -
Kjellberg Emma,
Roswall Josefine,
Bergman Stefan,
AlmqvistTangen Gerd,
Alm Bernt,
Dahlgren Jovanna
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
acta paediatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/apa.14599
Subject(s) - medicine , metabolic syndrome , waist , insulin resistance , body mass index , overweight , cohort , blood pressure , obesity , cohort study , population , circumference , endocrinology , pediatrics , environmental health , geometry , mathematics
Aim Metabolic syndrome represents a cluster of risk factors for cardiovascular disease, and we investigated whether otherwise healthy 6‐year‐olds showed metabolic alterations. Methods This study followed up a representative Swedish population‐based cohort of full‐term infants recruited on the maternity ward at Hallands Hospital Halmstad, Sweden, from 2008 to 2011. They were examined at a mean of 6.6 years of age (range 6.5–6.9) using various measures for signs of metabolic syndrome. Results One key measure showed that 55 (26%) of the 212 children had one or more risk factors for metabolic syndrome requiring action. The 37 who were obese (3%) or overweight (14%) were significantly more likely to be insulin resistant than the normal weight group (28% versus 5%, p < 0.001) and have high triglycerides (8% versus 0%, p < 0.001). Children with high waist circumferences had higher systolic (p = 0.01) and diastolic (p = 0.02) blood pressure than those with normal waist circumferences. Waist circumference identified children at high risk of metabolic syndrome better than body mass index. Conclusion A significant percentage of 6‐year‐old children showed abnormal metabolic profiles, including insulin resistance, which increased their risk of cardiovascular disease. Waist circumference was a stronger marker for metabolic alterations than body mass index.