Comparison of Different Definitions of Pediatric Metabolic Syndrome: Relation to Abdominal Adiposity, Insulin Resistance, Adiponectin, and Inflammatory Biomarkers

The prevalence of metabolic syndrome varies depending on the definition used in the literature. Thus, there is a need for a unified definition of this syndrome in children and adolescents to streamline the research in this area. Independent of race, visceral obesity, insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, and hypoadiponectinemia are the common characteristics of youths with the metabolic syndrome. In Caucasians but not in African Americans, the metabolic syndrome is associated with increased inflammatory markers; however, the translation of such findings remains to be determined based on long-term longitudinal outcome studies in different racial groups.