Longitudinal birth cohort study found that a significant proportion of children had abnormal metabolic profiles and insulin resistance at 6 years of age

Abstract

Aim Metabolic syndrome represents a cluster of risk factors for cardiovascular disease, and we investigated whether otherwise healthy 6‐year‐olds showed metabolic alterations. Methods This study followed up a representative Swedish population‐based cohort of full‐term infants recruited on the maternity ward at Hallands Hospital Halmstad, Sweden, from 2008 to 2011. They were examined at a mean of 6.6 years of age (range 6.5–6.9) using various measures for signs of metabolic syndrome. Results One key measure showed that 55 (26%) of the 212 children had one or more risk factors for metabolic syndrome requiring action. The 37 who were obese (3%) or overweight (14%) were significantly more likely to be insulin resistant than the normal weight group (28% versus 5%, p < 0.001) and have high triglycerides (8% versus 0%, p < 0.001). Children with high waist circumferences had higher systolic (p = 0.01) and diastolic (p = 0.02) blood pressure than those with normal waist circumferences. Waist circumference identified children at high risk of metabolic syndrome better than body mass index. Conclusion A significant percentage of 6‐year‐old children showed abnormal metabolic profiles, including insulin resistance, which increased their risk of cardiovascular disease. Waist circumference was a stronger marker for metabolic alterations than body mass index.

Highlights in this issue

“…This finding comes from a longitudinal study that was conducted in Halland, south‐west Sweden, by Kjellberg et al. . They found that 26% of the 212 children in the study had abnormal metabolic profiles, including insulin resistance.…”

Young Investigator Award 2019

“…Emma Kjellberg receives the award for her paper Longitudinal birth cohort study found that a significant proportion of children had abnormal metabolic profiles and insulin resistance at 6 years of age . The authors conducted a longitudinal study in Halland, south‐west Sweden, to investigate whether otherwise healthy six‐year‐olds showed metabolic alterations that could increase their risk for cardiovascular disease.…”

Metabolic syndrome in children

“…The study by Kjellberg et al. in this issue of Acta Paediatrica makes an important contribution to the field, because it reports on the metabolic risk factors in a population‐based cohort of more than 200 healthy six‐year‐old Swedish children born at full term. The data demonstrate that 26% of the investigated children had at least one risk factor and that 7% had two or more risk factors on a level that required action, according to the European identification and prevention study mentioned above .…”

“…In their study, Kjellberg et al. demonstrated that all the children in the cohort with at least two metabolic risk factors had a high waist circumference. They also concluded that waist circumference was a better indicator of insulin resistance than body mass index.…”

“…The study by Kjellberg et al. underlines the importance of focusing on overweight and obesity in young children in an effort to prevent the development of metabolic syndrome and associated CVD.…”