Relationship between Anthropometric Measures and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Children and Adolescents

Background

Obesity has been identified as an important risk factor in the development ofcardiovascular diseases; however, other factors, combined or not with obesity, caninfluence cardiovascular risk and should be considered in cardiovascular riskstratification in pediatrics.

Objective

To analyze the association between anthropometry measures and cardiovascular riskfactors, to investigate the determinants to changes in blood pressure (BP), and topropose a prediction equation to waist circumference (WC) in children andadolescents.

Methods

We evaluated 1,950 children and adolescents, aged 7 to 18 years. Visceral fat wasassessed by WC and waist hip relationship, BP and body mass index (BMI). In arandomly selected subsample of these volunteers (n = 578), total cholesterol,glucose and triglycerides levels were evaluated.

Results

WC was positively correlated with BMI (r = 0.85; p < 0.001) and BP (SBP r =0.45 and DBP = 0.37; p < 0.001). Glycaemia and triglycerides showed a weakcorrelation with WC (r = 0.110; p = 0.008 e r = 0.201; p < 0.001,respectively). Total cholesterol did not correlate with any of the variables. Age,BMI and WC were significant predictors on the regression models for BP (p <0.001). We propose a WC prediction equation for children and adolescents: boys: y= 17.243 + 0.316 (height in cm); girls: y = 25.197 + 0.256 (height in cm).

Conclusion

WC is associated with cardiovascular risk factors and presents itself as a riskfactor predictor of hypertension in children and adolescents. The WC predictionequation proposed by us should be tested in future studies.