The association between intima media thickness, central obesity and diastolic blood pressure in obese and overweight children: a cross-sectional school-based study.

OBJECTIVE: To examine relationship between carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and central obesity, cardiovasculary risk factors, and chronic inflammation markers in overweight and obese schoolchildren in Eastern Turkey.
METHODS: A cross-sectional school-based survey on 2765 schoolchildren was performed. We collected the clinical data (age, sex, percentage of body fat, and measured systolic blood pressure [BP] and diastolic BP, triglycerides, high- and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, glucose, insulin, homocysteine and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein) in 67 obese and 24 overweight children. The control group was composed of nonobese children of similar age and sex.
RESULTS: Mean systolic and diastolic BP values in the cases of overweight and obese groups were higher than those in the control group cases (p=0.001). Obese and overweight children demonstrated a significantly thicker intima media as compared with the control group (p=0.001). Carotid IMT was significantly correlated to the body mass index (r=0.396, p=0.001), fat mass percentage (r=0.257, p=0.036), waist circumference (r=0.390, p=0.001), diastolic BP (r=0.266, p=0.030), glucose (r=0.250, p=0.042), and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels (r=0.269, p=0.001) in the obese group. In multiple linear regression analysis, carotid IMT correlated significantly to waist circumference (p=0.045), and diastolic BP (p=0.031) in obese group.
CONCLUSIONS: Obesity is related to cardiovascular risk factors leading to early atherosclerosis in schoolchildren. There is a relationship between atherosclerosis, and central obesity, diastolic BP, and chronic inflammation. Waist circumference measurement is more sensitive than other anthropometric measurements in predicting obesity and associated complications.

RCT Entities:   Population Interventions Outcomes