Prevalence of metabolic syndrome in obese Turkish children and adolescents

ObjectiveThe aim of our study was to assess the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and the other metabolic features in obese children.MethodsWe have studied 169 obese children and adolescents (body mass index > 95th percentile), 100 prepubertal and 69 pubertal, aged between 7 and 18 years. Each subject was submitted to an oral glucose tolerance test. The diagnosis of impaired glucose tolerance, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome were defined according to modified WHO criteria adapted for children.ResultsMetabolic syndrome was found in 27.2%, with a significantly higher rate among adolescents aged 12–18 years (37.6%) than among children aged 7–11 years (20%) (p < 0.001). There were no significant differences in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome by sex. The prevalences of insulin resistance, glucose intolerance and type 2 diabetes were 29, 19 and 2% among prepubertal children and 56.5, 27.5 and 4.3% among pubertal group, respectively. The prevalence of fasting hyperinsulinemia in pubertal group was significantly higher than prepubertal children (p < 0.001). Hyperinsulinemia was also more frequent in pubertal children with significant difference (20% versus 43.7%, p < 0.001). Hypertension was significantly more common in adolescents (31.8%) than children (15%) with obesity, as expected (p < 0.013). Overall, dyslipidaemia in prepubertal and pubertal groups was identified in 42 and 55%, respectively, with no significant differences (p = 0.085).ConclusionsType 2 diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome prevalences among adolescents are quite high in the urban area of Konya, central Anatolia, with abnormal lipid profiles, obesity and nutritional mistakes.