Association of Childhood Metabolic Syndrome and Metabolic Phenotypes with the Carotid Intima-Media Thickness (CIMT) in Early Adulthood: Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) during adolescence has shown an increasing trend. This study aimed to investigate the association of MetS and metabolic phenotypes with a high carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) in early adulthood in the framework of a large cohort study. Methods: MetS was defined as proposed by Cook, de Ferranti, the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP), and the pediatric International Diabetes Federation (IDF). Metabolic phenotypes were defined based on the binary clustering of cardiovascular risk factors. The participants were followed up for 18.2 years. Multivariate-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) were calculated for a high CIMT incidence (≥95th percentile).Results: In this study, 862 adolescents (52.3% males), with the mean age of 13.4±2.2 years, were included. The presence of MetS, based on the definitions proposed by Cook (OR=1.90, 95% CI: 1.01-3.57, P=0.046) and de Ferranti (OR=1.74; 95% CI: 1.04-2.90, P=0.033), was associated with the increased risk of a high CIMT in early adulthood. Metabolic phenotypes, including high waist circumference (WC)/hypertension (HTN), high WC/low high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), and high triglyceride (TG)/high WC, showed higher risks of a high CIMT. However, these positive associations become insignificant after adjusting for the adulthood BMI, except for the high WC/low HDL-C phenotype (OR=2.04, 95% CI: 1.02-4.11, P=0.044). Conclusion: The high WC/low HDL-C phenotype had a better predictive value and could be used as a simpler alternative for MetS to identify adolescents with a higher risk of high CIMT during early adulthood.