Racial/ethnic discrepancies in the metabolic syndrome begin in childhood and persist after adjustment for environmental factors

Walker, S.E.; Gurka, M.J.; Oliver, M.N.; Johns, D.W.; DeBoer, M.D.

doi:10.1016/j.numecd.2010.05.006

« Previous Next »Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases
Volume 22, Issue 2 , Pages 141-148, February 2012

Racial/ethnic discrepancies in the metabolic syndrome begin in childhood and persist after adjustment for environmental factors

S.E. Walker
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Virginia School of Medicine, P.O. Box 800386, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA
M.J. Gurka
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Virginia School of Medicine, P.O. Box 800386, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA
- Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA, USA
M.N. Oliver
- Department of Family Medicine, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA, USA
- Center for Health Disparities, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA, USA
D.W. Johns
- Department of Medicine, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA, USA
M.D. DeBoer
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Virginia School of Medicine, P.O. Box 800386, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 434 924 9144; fax: +1 434 924 9181.

Received 7 October 2009; received in revised form 13 May 2010; accepted 20 May 2010. published online 13 August 2010.

Abstract

Background and Aims

Evaluation of metabolic syndrome (MetS) characteristics across an age spectrum from childhood to adulthood has been limited by a lack of consistent MetS criteria for children and adults and by a lack of adjustment for environmental factors. We used the pediatric and adult International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria to determine whether gender-specific and race-specific differences in MetS and its components are present in adolescents as in adults after adjustment for socio-economic status (SES) and lifestyle factors.

Methods and Results

Waist circumference, blood pressure, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, and fasting glucose measures were obtained from 3100 adolescent (12–19years) and 3419 adult (20–69years) non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, and Mexican-American participants of the 1999–2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. We compared odds of having MetS and its components across racial/ethnic groups by age group, while adjusting for income, education, physical activity and diet quality. After adjusting for possible confounding influences of SES and lifestyle, non-Hispanic-black adolescent males exhibited a lower odds of MetS and multiple components (abdominal obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, low HDL, hyperglycemia) compared to non-Hispanic-white and Mexican-American adolescents. Compared to non-Hispanic-white adolescent males, Mexican-American adolescent males had less hypertension. There were no differences in MetS prevalence among adolescent females, though non-Hispanic-black girls exhibited less hypertriglyceridemia.

Conclusion

Racial/ethnicity-specific differences in MetS and its components are present in both adolescence and adulthood, even after adjusting for environmental factors. These data help strengthen arguments for developing racial/ethnic-specific MetS criteria to better identify individuals at risk for future cardiovascular disease.

Keywords: Metabolic syndrome, Adolescence, Insulin, Race