Frequency of cardiovascular risk factors in obese children and adolescents referred to a tertiary care center in Israel.

AIMS

To establish the frequency of dyslipidemia in obese Israeli children and adolescents and its association with other cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors.

METHODS

Files of 262 patients (5.1-18.8 years) with BMI >95th percentile for age and gender were reviewed for anthropometric and biochemical parameters of CVD risk. Dyslipidemia and hypertension were defined as cut-off point > or =95th percentile of healthy children.

RESULTS

Compared to patients with normal lipid profile, dyslipidemic patients (n = 71) had significantly higher prevalence of fatty liver (p < 0.001), higher percent body fat (males, p = 0.044), and higher C-reactive protein (females, p = 0.001). There was no significant difference in age, BMI-SDS, or familial CVD-related disorders. The hypertensive patients (n = 137) were significantly older than the normotensive patients (p < 0.001), had higher percent body fat (p = 0.008), larger waist circumference (p < 0.001), and higher HOMA-IR (p < 0.001). There were no significant between-group differences in BMI-SDS. The most significant factors associated with CVD risk were waist circumference and insulin level.

CONCLUSIONS

Obese Israeli children have high rates of CVD risk factors, most of them unrelated to BMI-SDS or age. Therefore, we recommend screening for them in obese children with increased waist circumference of any age to detect those who require more intense interventions.