Height-Corrected Definition of Metabolic Syndrome Is a Simple and Effective Method for Identifying Insulin Resistance and Low-Grade Inflammation in Adolescents: Metabolic Syndrome in Adolescents

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of the height-corrected definition of metabolic syndrome(MetS) in adolescents. A retrospective study was conducted on US adolescents aged 12 to 17 years. Waist-to-height ratio and blood pressure-to-height ratio were substituted for waist circumference and blood pressure when defining MetS in adolescents. The proportions of insulin resistance of adolescents with 1 (30.1%), 2 (50.7%), and ≥3 components (77.8%) of MetS were 2.578 (P < .001), 6.882 (P < .001), and 23.992 (P < .001) times than the proportion of adolescents without the component of MetS (14.2%). The proportions of low-grade inflammation of adolescents with 1 (3.4%), 2 (5.3%), and ≥3 components (14.4%) of MetS were 2.050 (P = .106), 3.699 (P = .005), and 10.664 (P < .001) times than the proportion of adolescents without the component of MetS (1.7%). This study demonstrates that height-corrected definition of MetS is a simple and accurate method for identifying insulin resistance and low-grade inflammation in adolescents.