Prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors in a nationally representative sample of Iranian children and adolescents: the CASPIAN-V Study

Abstract

Introduction: This study presents the prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors in a nationally representative sample of Iranian children and adolescents. Methods: This multi-centric study was conducted in 2015 among 4200 students aged 7–18 years. They were selected by multistage cluster sampling from 30 provinces of Iran. Anthropometric indices, biochemical and clinical parameters were measured. Results: The mean of weight, height, waist circumference (WC), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and fasting blood glucose (FBG) was higher in boys than in girls (P < 0.05). The mean of triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels were higher in girls than in boys (P < 0.05). The mean of weight, height, WC, SBP, DBP, alanine transaminase (ALT) and body mass index (BMI) was higher in urban than in rural residents (P < 0.05). Overall, 16.1%, 9.4% and 11.4% were underweight, overweight and obese. Abdominal obesity was documented in 21.6% of boys and 20.5% of girls. Low HDL-C was the most prevalent abnormality of lipid profile (29.5%) followed by high serum TGs (27.7%). Low HDL-C was more prevalent in boys than in girls (32.7% vs. 26%, respectively, P < 0.05). Prevalence of obesity and overweight were higher in girls than in boys (P < 0.05). The prevalence of obesity and overweight, abdominal obesity, and low HDL-C were higher in urban than in rural residents (P < 0.05). Conclusion: We found considerably high prevalence of some cardiometabolic risk factors including overweight and obesity, low HDL-C and hypertriglyceridemia in Iranian children and adolescents. The current findings underscore the necessity of intensifying health interventions for primordial and primary prevention of non-communicable diseases from early life.

Obesity, dyslipidemia, and high blood pressure are associated with cardiovascular risk, determined using high-sensitivity C-reactive protein concentration, in young adults

“…In a multi-center study of children and adolescents, high prevalences of obesity (11.4%), hypertriglyceridemia (27.7%), and low high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) concentration (29.5%) were identified. 4 The presence of other conditions, such as dyslipidemia, hyperuricemia, and insulin resistance, increases the risk of CVD. 5 However, most previous studies have focused on adults of ≥40 years old and only a few have evaluated the relationships between these factors and the risk of premature death in adolescents and young adults.…”

Metabolic risk is associated with sociodemographic characteristics in adolescents from both rural and urban regions from southern Brazil

“…In a Venezuelan study, the altered TG/HDL-C ratio in children and adolescents may be a prediction for MR [ 35 ]. In Iran, low HDL-C prevalence in children and adolescents was higher in urban than in rural areas, demonstrating that there were differences between the residential areas [ 36 ]. Hypertension was present in adolescents in rural areas in northeastern China when compared with the urban area.…”

Comparison of the ability of HOMA-IR, VAI, and TyG indexes to predict metabolic syndrome in children with obesity: a cross-sectional study

“…Obesity is a global health problem for children and adolescents due to the many morbid consequences it is associated with, and the increasing trend in childhood obesity needs to be closely monitored and intervened [ 1 , 2 ]. Childhood obesity causes many short and long-term health issues such as metabolic syndrome (MetS), cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver, orthopedic difficulties, and decreased self-confidence [ 3 , 4 ].…”