Metabolic Syndrome: Prevalence and Risk Factors among Adolescent Female Intermediate and Secondary Students in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MS) has become one of the major challenges to public health worldwide due to its significant association with increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD) among children and adolescents. Therefore, this study aims to determine the prevalence and risk factors of MS in Saudi adolescents. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in two female National Guard schools (Um Kalthoom Intermediate School and Zainab Bint Jahsh Secondary School) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, between January 2018 and March 2018. Of the 808 female students, 172 (age range of 12–19 years) participated voluntarily, with consent from their guardian(s), fasted for at least 8 h prior to the study, and represent the final study sample. Male students were not included due to cultural constraints in conducting the study. Demographic data, physical measurement (blood pressure, weight, height, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC)), and biochemical measurement (fasting plasma glucose and triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and low-density lipoprotein) were obtained. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria was utilized in the diagnosis of MS. Results: Of the 172 female adolescents, 24 (13.75%) are overweight, 20 (11.63%) are obese, and 3 (1.74%) are underweight. High-fasting plasma glucose (n = 85, 49.41%) and high waist circumference (n = 74, 43.02%) were the most common risk factors of MS among female adolescents. The overall prevalence of MS was 7% (n = 12/172). MS is more common among those who are obese or among those with a BMI that falls at the ≥95th percentile (n = 6/20, 30.0%) (p < 0.05) as compared to those who are overweight with a BMI that falls within the 85th to <95th percentiles (n = 2/24, 8.33%). Interestingly, 3.20% of the sample (n = 4/125) with normal BMI were diagnosed with MS. Conclusions: Our study indicates that MS is common among obese and overweight female adolescents but is also present among those who are not obese or with normal BMI. Moreover, the prevalence of overweight, obese, and those with MS in this reference population are lower compared to the cities of Makkah and Riyadh; however, it varies widely around the world due to different criteria and cut-off values in the diagnosis of MS.

Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome among Early Adolescents in Khartoum State, Sudan

“…In the present study, it was noticed that MetS early adolescents (aged 10–15 years) had high WC, high triglycerides, high blood pressure, low HDL, and high glucose respectively. These factors are shown to contribute to the increase in cardiometabolic disorders [ 45 , 46 , 47 ].…”

International View on Preventive Measures to Combat the Metabolic Syndrome Development in Children

“…МС стал одной из основных проблем общественного здравоохранения во всем мире в связи с его существенной корреляцией с повышенным риском развития сахарного диабета 2-го типа и сердечно-сосудистых заболеваний у детей и подростков [9]. Исследование A. Alowfi и соавт.…”

“…Были проанализированы демографические данные, изучены антропометрические данные (кровяное давление, масса тела, рост, ИМТ и обхват талии), а также биохимический анализ крови натощак (глюкоза и триглицериды плазмы, липопротеиды высокой и низкой плотности). Проведенное исследование показывает, что МС распространен среди детей и подростков женского пола, страдающих ожирением и избыточной массой тела, но также присутствует среди тех, у кого ИМТ в пределах нормальных значений [9].…”

Updates in Prevalence and Management of Metabolic Syndrome among Children in Saudi Arabia: A Systematic Review

“…Three studies were conducted in Jeddah (Taha et al, 2009;Al-Agha et al, 2012;Alowfi et al, 2021), two in Riyadh (Aldhafiri et al, 2012;Al-Hussein et al, 2014), and one in Majmaah (Aldhafiri, 2020). Three studies used the National Cholesterol Education Expert Panel-Adult Treatment Panel (NCEP-ATP III) and WHO criteria for MetS diagnosis (Taha et al, 2009;Aldhafiri et al, 2012;Aldhafiri, 2020), two used the IDF (Al-Hussein et al, 2014;Alowfi et al, 2021), and one used criterion according to (de Ferranti et al, 2004) Table 2 includes the features of the included studies; study designs, MetS prevalence, management, the main outcome, and risk of bias. Of the included studies, four studies were crosssectional studies (Al-Agha et al, 2012;Al-Hussein et al, 2014;Aldhafiri, 2020;Alowfi et al, 2021), and two were cohort studies (Taha et al, 2009;Aldhafiri et al, 2012).…”

“…Of the included studies, four studies were crosssectional studies (Al-Agha et al, 2012;Al-Hussein et al, 2014;Aldhafiri, 2020;Alowfi et al, 2021), and two were cohort studies (Taha et al, 2009;Aldhafiri et al, 2012). The prevalence of MetS among Saudi children ranged from 7% (Alowfi et al, 2021) to 30% (Taha et al, 2009). The included studies reported that the high prevalence of MetS was found in obese children; however, it was also detected in children with normal BMI.…”