ORIGINAL / Pediatría

 

Prevalence of factors associated to metabolic syndrome in a cohort of children in South Brazil

Prevalencia de factores de riesgo asociados con el síndrome metabólico de los niños en una cohorte en el sur de brasil

 

 

Alessandra Doumid Borges Pretto¹, Cristina Correa Kaufmann², Gisele Ferreira Dutra³ and Elaine Pinto Albernaz⁴

¹PhD Student of Postgraduation Program on Health and Behavior of the Catholic University of Pelotas (UCPEL), Pelotas, RS.
²PhD by the Health and Behavior of the Catholic University of Pelotas (UCPEL), Adjunct Professor, School of Nutrition, Federal University of Pelotas (UFPEL), Pelotas, RS.
³PhD Student of Postgraduation Program on Health and Behavior of the Catholic University of Pelotas (UCPEL), Pelotas, RS.
⁴PhD in Epidemiology, Federal University of Pelotas, Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics, Graduate Program in Health and Behavior of the Catholic University of Pelotas and Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Pelotas, RS, Brazil.

 

 

---

ABSTRACT

Introduction: the Metabolic Syndrome is a group of disorders and it has gaining importance due to its association with the subsequent development of cardiovascular diseases.
Objectives: to determine the prevalence of risk factors associated to the metabolic syndrome in children from a cohort in Southern Brazil.
Methods: a prospective cohort study with hospital screening of all births (2741) occurred from September 2002 to May 2003, monitoring a random sample of 30.0% at one, three and six months and eight years old. During the visit at the age of eight years, a questionnaire containing questions related to nutrition, physical activity and family history of chronic diseases. Also, weight, height and the waist circumference were measured. Descriptive and bivariate analyzes between independent variables and the outcome were performed.
Results y discussion: from the 616 studied children, 51.3% were male, 70.3% had white, about half belonged to the economic class C, 20.5% were overweight and 16.9% were obese. There was high prevalence of family history for hypertension (81.5%), and was observed that 20.7% of the eutrophic children showed elevated waist circumference.
Conclusion: the high prevalence of risk factors for the metabolic syndrome found in the studied children reinforces the importance of proper medical history including family history. It is suggested to include the measurement of waist circumference in routine pediatric care.

Key words: Metabolic syndrome. Obesity. Waist circumference.

---

RESUMEN

Introducción: el síndrome metabólico es un grupo de enfermedades que ha ido ganando importancia debido a la asociación con el desarrollo posterior de enfermedades cardiovasculares.
Objetivo: verificar la prevalencia de factores de riesgo asociados con el síndrome metabólico en niños de una cohorte del sur de Brasil.
Métodos: estudio de cohorte prospectivo con el hospital de todos los nacimientos (2.741) que tuvieron lugar en el mes de septiembre/2002 a mayo/2003 y seguimiento de una muestra aleatoria de 30,0% con uno, tres y seis meses y ocho años de edad. En una visita a los ocho años de edad se utilizó un cuestionario con preguntas relacionadas con la nutrición, la actividad física y la historia familiar de enfermedades crónicas, y se midieron peso, talla y circunferencia de la cintura. Se realizaron análisis descriptivos y bivariados entre las variables independientes y los resultados obtenidos.
Resultados y discusión: de 616 niños estudiados, el 51,3% fueron varones, el 70,3% blancos, cerca de la mitad pertenecían a la clase económica C, el 20,6% tenían sobrepeso y el 17,0% eran obesos. Mostró una alta prevalencia de historia familiar de hipertensión arterial (81,5%), y se observó que el 20,7% de los niños eutróficos tenían una circunferencia de cintura elevada.
Conclusión: la alta prevalencia de factores de riesgo para el síndrome metabólico en los niños estudiados refuerza la importancia de una adecuada anamnesis: historia familiar. Se sugiere medir la circunferencia de la cintura en la rutina de cuidados pediátricos.

Palabras clave: Obesidad. Síndrome metabólico. Circunferencia de la cintura.

---

 

 

http://scielo.isciii.es/pdf/nh/v32n1/18originalpediatria01.pdf