Pediatricians call for a cohesive definition of metabolic syndrome in children

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Public release date:

10-Jan-2008http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-01/ehs-pcf011008.php

Contact: Brigid Huey

journal.pediatrics@...

Elsevier Health Sciences

Pediatricians call for a cohesive definition of metabolic syndrome in

children

Cincinnati, OH, January 10, 2008 – Metabolic syndrome in children

represents a potentially serious threat to health in adulthood, yet many

parents and caregivers do not have a clear idea of what metabolic

syndrome is and why it is dangerous. Metabolic syndrome is a group of

cardiovascular risk factors, including obesity, hypertension,

prediabetes, and reduced HDL (“good”) cholesterol. Because it is

difficult to know when a child is at risk for metabolic syndrome, some

doctors fear that children may not be properly diagnosed as a result.

The February 2008 issue of The Journal of Pediatrics focuses on this

issue by publishing a series of articles in an attempt to work toward a

cohesive definition of metabolic syndrome in children.

Five articles of the series were completed by researchers from the

Pediatric Metabolic Syndrome Working Group (PMSWG), a team of

researchers from various institutions across the United States. The

members of the PMSWG explored the potential for a unified and cohesive

definition for metabolic syndrome. The researchers evaluated how current

definitions relate to the number of children diagnosed with metabolic

syndrome. They found that because of the variety of definitions used by

pediatricians, it is difficult to estimate the prevalence of the

syndrome among children and adolescents. Additionally, the researchers

looked at how well each metabolic risk factor predicts future health

issues. According to Dr. Terry Huang, “these papers represent summaries

of the current state of knowledge for factors related to metabolic

syndrome.” By gathering this information, the PMSWG hopes to provide a

frame of reference for pediatricians working with metabolic syndrome.

Dr. on and colleagues from Cincinnati Children’s Medical

Center, Cincinnati Jewish Hospital, and land Medical Research

Institute collected data from a 25-30 year study concerning

cardiovascular risk factors. They found that metabolic syndrome in

children may have a direct link to type 2 diabetes in adulthood.

In a related article, Dr. Claudio Maffeis and colleagues from The

Obesity Study Group of the Italian Society of Pediatric Endocrinology

and Diabetology used body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and

weight to height ratios to determine obesity in a group of 974 children.

They found that evaluating waist circumference and weight to height

ratio measurements may be more accurate in determining metabolic risk

than using body mass index alone.

These articles demonstrate that symptoms of adult metabolic syndrome

begin in childhood and may be directly related to obesity. They also

illustrate the need for a clear definition of metabolic syndrome in

children. According to Dr. Reginald Washington, “once this definition

exists, medical providers who care for children will know what to look

for in order to identify children who are at risk to develop adult

metabolic syndrome.” Such a definition could lead to better treatment of

childhood metabolic syndrome, which could positively impact the growing

obesity epidemic.

###

These studies are reported in the following:

# “Finding Thresholds of Risk for Components of the Pediatric Metabolic

Syndrome”, by Terry T-K Huang, PhD, MPH

# “Metabolic Syndrome Rates in United States Adolescents, from the

National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999-2002” by

Cook, MD, Peggy Auinger, MS, Chaoyang Li, MD, PhD, and Earl S. Ford, MD, MPH

# “Examining Metabolic Syndrome Definitions in Overweight Hispanic

Youth: A Focus on Insulin Resistance” by Q. Shaibi, PhD, PT, and

I. Goran, PhD

# “Comparison of Different Definitions of Pediatric Metabolic Syndrome:

Relation to Abdominal Adiposity, Insulin Resistance, Adiponectin, and

Inflammatory Biomarkers” by SoJung Lee, PhD, Fida Bacha, MD, Neslihan

Gungor, MD, and Silva Arslanian, MD

# “Defining the Metabolic Syndrome in Children and Adolescents: Will the

Real Definition Please Stand Up?” by Earl S. Ford, MD, MPH, and Chaoyang

Li, MD, PhD

# “Sensitivity, Specificity, and Predictive Values of Pediatric

Metabolic Syndrome Components in Relation to Adult Metabolic Syndrome:

The Princeton LRC Follow-up Study” by Terry T-K Huang, PhD, MPH, Tonya

R. Nansel, PhD, R. Belsheim, MA, and A. on, PhD

# “Childhood Obesity Predicts Adult Metabolic Syndrome: The Fels

Longitudinal Study” by Shumei S. Sun, PhD, Ruohong Liang, MS, Terry T-K

Huang, PhD, MPH, R. s, MD, PhD, Silva Arslanian, MD, Kiang

Liu, PhD, Gilman D. Grave, MD, and M. Siervogel, PhD

# “Metabolic Syndrome in Childhood Predicts Adult Metabolic Syndrome and

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus 25 to 30 Years Later” by A. on, PhD,

Aronson Friedman, ScM, Ping Wang, PhD, and J. Glueck, MD

# “Waist-to-Height Ratio, a Useful Index to Identify High Metabolic Risk

in Overweight Children” by Claudio Maffeis, MD, Banzato, MD, and

Giorgio Talamini, MD, on behalf of The Obesity Study Group of The

Italian Society of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetology.

The articles appear in The Journal of Pediatrics, Volume 152 Number 2

(February 2008), published by Elsevier.

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