Obesity and the metabolic syndrome in a student cohort from Southern Italy

Noto, D.; Niglio, T.; Cefalù, A.B.; Martino, E.; Fayer, F.; Mina, M.; Valenti, V.; Notarbartolo, A.; Averna, M.; Martino, F.

doi:10.1016/j.numecd.2008.12.003

« Previous Next »Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases
Volume 19, Issue 9 , Pages 620-625, November 2009

Obesity and the metabolic syndrome in a student cohort from Southern Italy

D. Noto
- Department of Clinical Medicine and Emerging Diseases, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
T. Niglio
- Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Roma, Italy
A.B. Cefalù
- Department of Clinical Medicine and Emerging Diseases, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
E. Martino
- Centre of Clinic Lipid Research, Department of Paediatrics, University of Rome “La Sapienza,” Rome, Italy
F. Fayer
- Department of Clinical Medicine and Emerging Diseases, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
M. Mina
- Department of Clinical Medicine and Emerging Diseases, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
V. Valenti
- Department of Clinical Medicine and Emerging Diseases, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
A. Notarbartolo
- Department of Clinical Medicine and Emerging Diseases, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
M. Averna
- Department of Clinical Medicine and Emerging Diseases, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
- Corresponding authors. Dept of Clinical Medicine and Emerging Disease, Via del Vespro 141, I-90127 Palermo, Italy. Tel.: +39 091 6552993; fax: +39 091 6552936.
F. Martino
- Centre of Clinic Lipid Research, Department of Paediatrics, University of Rome “La Sapienza,” Rome, Italy
- Corresponding authors. Dept of Paediatrics, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, V.le Regina Elena 324, I-00161 Roma, Italy.

Received 22 April 2008; received in revised form 6 November 2008; accepted 2 December 2008. published online 04 March 2009.

Abstract

Background and aim

Cardiovascular (CV) risk factors present in childhood predict future CV events. Few data regarding the metabolic syndrome (MS) prevalence are available in adolescents from Mediterranean areas where obesity is becoming a social emergency. This study presents data of MS prevalence in a student cohort from southern Italy.

Methods and results

1629 students between 7 and 14 years of age underwent anthropometric measurements and a blood sample was obtained to assess biochemical parameters. MS risk factors were calculated based on age and gender adjusted percentiles of parameter distributions. MS prevalence rate was 0.022 using paediatric, age-adjusted criteria; the rate increased to 0.029 using a 90th percentile criteria for fasting blood glucose instead of >100mg/dL. Using the criteria issued by the International Diabetes Federation the MS prevalence rate dropped to 0.005. The exploratory factor analysis identified four factors: age/fat related, lipids, blood pressure and blood glucose. Family history of type 2 diabetes mellitus was associated with triglyceride [OR=1.55 (1.0–2.3)] and BMI [OR=1.71 (1.2–2.4)] but not to blood glucose by logistic regression analysis.