Can the metabolic syndrome identify children with insulin resistance?

Objective: The metabolic syndrome is associated with insulin resistance in adults. We defined pediatric metabolic syndrome using criteria analogous to Adult Treatment Panel III. The purpose of this study was to determine whether these criteria are reliable for insulin resistance in children.

Research design and methods: Out of 167 children (6.7 ± 3 yr), 73 overweight [body mass index (BMI) > 95 percentile], 41 at risk of overweight (BMI > 85 < 95 percentile), and 53 normal-weight (BMI < 85 percentile) children matched for sex and age were examined. The results for waist circumference, blood pressure, oral glucose tolerance test, C-reactive protein, adiponectin, insulin, and lipids were obtained.

Results: There was a comparable prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in both sexes. The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome was 11.3% [95% confidence interval (CI) 6.56–16.19%] among the whole group and 21.9% (95% CI 12.24–31.0%) among overweight children. Waist circumference >75 percentile 53.2% (95% CI 45.73–60.86%) and low high-density lipoprotein 27.5% (95% CI 20.77–34.32%) were common in this sample. Compared with patients without any component of the metabolic syndrome, homeostasis model assessment insulin resistantce (HOMA-IR) for patients with one through four components was higher (β = 0.6, 95% CI 0.4–0.7, p < 0.0001, R² = 0.185). A logistic regression analysis using the metabolic syndrome as the dependent variable showed that HOMA-IR (odds ratio 1.52, 95% CI 1.2–2.0, p = 0.007) was the only independent risk factor for the metabolic syndrome, adjusted for age and sex.

Conclusions: The importance of insulin resistance in the metabolic syndrome is supported by the results of logistic regression analysis. Early identification of children may be useful to predict future cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.