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Cited by 1,123Diabetes, Cardiovascular Risks, and LipoproteinsObesity, Physical Activity, DietDiet, Metabolism, and Disease

Prevalence of the Metabolic Syndrome in American Adolescents: Findings From the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

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de Ferranti, Sarah D., Gauvreau, Kimberlee, Ludwig, David S., Neufeld, Ellis J., Newburger, Jane W., Rifai, Nader·2004·Circulation
DOI 10.1161/01.cir.0000145117.40114.c7
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Abstract

Background— Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is defined by the Third Report of the Adult Treatment Panel (ATP III) using criteria easily applied by clinicians and researchers. There is no standard pediatric definition. Methods and Results— We defined pediatric MetS using criteria analogous to ATP III as ≥3 of the following: (1) fasting triglycerides ≥1.1 mmol/L (100 mg/dL); (2) HDL <1.3 mmol/L (50 mg/dL), except in boys aged 15 to 19 years, in whom the cutpoint was <1.2 mmol/L (45 mg/dL); (3) fasting glucose ≥6.1 mmol/L (110 mg/dL); (4) waist circumference >75th percentile for age and gender; and (5) systolic blood pressure >90th percentile for gender, age, and height. MetS prevalence in US adolescents was estimated with the Third National Health and Nutritional Survey 1988 to 1994. Among 1960 children aged ≥12 years who fasted ≥8 hours, two thirds had at least 1 metabolic abnormality, and nearly 1 in 10 had MetS. The racial/ethnic distribution was similar to adults: Mexican-Americans, followed by non-Hispanic whites, had a greater prevalence of MetS compared with non-Hispanic blacks (12.9%, [95% CI 10.4% to 15.4%]; 10.9%, [95% CI 8.4% to 13.4%]; and 2.5%, [95% CI 1.3% to 3.7%], respectively). Nearly one third (31.2% [95% CI 28.3% to 34.1%]) of overweight/obese adolescents had MetS. Conclusions— Our definition of pediatric MetS, designed to be closely analogous to ATP III, found MetS is common in adolescents and has a similar racial/ethnic distribution to adults in this representative national sample. Because childhood MetS likely tracks into adulthood, early identification may help target interventions to improve future cardiovascular health.

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  • For diagnosis of metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents, as well as in adults, WC rather than BMI is used as a diagnostic criterion.

    “For diagnosis of metabolic syndrome (MS) in children and adolescents, as well as in adults, WC rather than BMI is used as a diagnostic criterion.13-15”

    From Reference Values for Waist Circumference and Waist–Height Ratio in Korean Children and Adolescents (2022) · cites this paper as [14]

    The Methods and the adult/proposed pediatric definitions table show that ATP III uses waist circumference for adults and that this paper's proposed pediatric definition also uses it, rather than BMI. But the paper says there is no standard pediatric definition and describes another pediatric definition based on BMI, so the claim is too broad if read as applying to pediatric diagnosis generally. The supplied passages have section labels but no page numbers. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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Authors
de Ferranti, S. D., Gauvreau, K., Ludwig, D. S., Neufeld, E. J., Newburger, J. W., & Rifai, N.
Affiliations
  • From the Departments of Cardiology (S.D.d.F., K.G., J.W.N.); Medicine, Divisions of Endocrinology (D.S.L.) and Hematology (E.J.N.); and Laboratory Medicine and Pathology (N.R.), Children’s Hospital, Boston, Mass.
  • Boston Children's Hospital (US)
ORCID
Venue
Circulation
Publisher
Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Published
2004-10-19
Volume
110
Issue
16
Pages
2494-2497
ISSN
  • 0009-7322 (ISSN-L)
  • 1524-4539
DOI
10.1161/01.cir.0000145117.40114.c7
OpenAlex
W2119545138
Cited by
1,123
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 12 · 2025: 30 · 2024: 34 · 2023: 49 · 2022: 41 · 2021: 45 · 2020: 42 · 2019: 34 · 2018: 37 · 2017: 49 · 2016: 55 · 2015: 50 · 2014: 44 · 2013: 62 · 2012: 59
FWCI
34.44
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Circulation (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • Charles H. Hood Foundation
  • National Institutes of Health (5r01dk059240-04)
  • National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (HL-04184, T-32 HL07572, T32HL007572)
  • National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (R01DK59240)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diabetes, Cardiovascular Risks, and Lipoproteins
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diet, Metabolism, and Disease
Keywords
metabolic syndrome, adolescents, prevalence, NCEP ATP III criteria, racial and ethnic differences, Mexican Americans, overweight and obesity, cardiovascular risk
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Anthropometry, Blood Glucose, Blood Pressure, Child, Ethnicity, Female, Health Surveys, Humans, Lipoproteins, HDL, Male, Obesity, Triglycerides, United States, Prevalence, Metabolic Syndrome

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