Metabolic Syndrome Among Children and Adolescents in Low and Middle Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Abstract

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a clustering of cardiovascular risk factors, which is raising the low and middle income countries (LMICs). There are various studies with inconsistent findings, but they are inconclusive for policy makers and program planners. Thus, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed at estimating the pooled prevalence of MetS and its components in LMICs. Methods: Electronic searches were conducted in international databases including PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE (Elsevier), Scopus, CINAHL (EBSCOhost), Science direct (Elsevier), Food Science and Technology Abstracts (FSTA), Global Health and Medline, and other sources (World Cat, Google Scholar, and Google). The pooled estimates were computed in the random effect model. The pooled prevalence was computed using the three diagnostic methods (IDF, ATP III and de Ferranti). Publication bias was verified using funnel plot and Egger’s regression test. Subgroup and sensitivity analysis were performed to identify the possible sources of heterogeneity among the included studies. Result: In this study, 142,142 children and adolescents from 76 eligible articles were included to compute the pooled prevalence of MetS and its components in LMCIs. MeTs among the overweight and obese population was computed from 20 articles with the pooled prevalence of 24.09%, 36.5%, and 56.32% in IDF, ATP III and de Ferranti criteria, respectively. Similarly, a total of 56 articles were eligible to compute the pooled prevalence of MetS in the general population of children and adolescents. Hence, Mets was found in 3.98% (IDF), 6.71% (ATP III) and 8.91% (de Ferranti) of study subjects. Regarding the components of MetS, abdominal obesity was the major component in overweight and obese population and low HDL-C was the most common component in the general population. This study also revealed that males were highly affected by MetS than females. Conclusion: This study illustrates that MetS among children and adolescents is an emerging public health challenge in LMICs, where the prevalence of obesity is on the move. Preventive strategies such as community and school based intervention need to be designed. Promoting physical activities and healthy eating behaviors could avert this problem.

Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome among Children and Adolescents in High-Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies

“…However, the meta-analyses results of the current study are higher than most of the previous findings, which depict that MetS is having an upsurge primarily in the developed world, and it is supported by the findings of the previous reviews [9,141,142]. In general, the pooled prevalence of MetS among the obese population is higher in HICs as compared to the low-and middle-income countries, but comparable with the general population [143]. In this study, the pooled prevalence of the components of MetS was also computed using different diagnostic criteria.…”

Exposure of children in Serbia to potentially harmful excipients when treated with approved antibiotics

“…Second most commonly observed EKE was sucrose. It is still profoundly used as an excipient, while the number of young patients with metabolic syndrome is increasing [16]. Similarly, concerns about the correlation with dental caries prevalence in children also exist [17], which requires attention regarding intake of liquid formulations containing high concentrations of sucrose.…”