Metabolic Syndrome and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Overweight and Obese Children: A Single Centre Experience
Asuman Demirbuğa, Şükran Poyrazoğlu, Rüveyde BundakObjective: Childhood obesity is associated with various risks, including insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension, and metabolic syndrome (MetS). This study evaluated MetS and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) in overweight and obese children.
Methods: Between 2000 and 2013, 474 obese and overweight children aged <18 years were included in this study. The clinical characteristics of the patients with MetS and type 2 DM were evaluated.
Results: Of the patients, 50.4% (n = 239) were girls, and the mean age was 10.91±3.06 years. According to the body mass index, 20.5% (n=97) of the patients were overweight and 79.5% (n=377) were obese. Blood pressure, striae, and acanthosis nigricans were significantly higher in the obese group than in the overweight group (p <0.05). MetS was found in 30.8% (n=146) of the patients. The MetS rate was 37.7% (n=142) in the obese patients and 4.1% (n=4) in the overweight patients, and the difference between them was statistically significant (p<0.001) Based on the oral glucose tolerance test; 45 (9.5%) patients had impaired fasting glycaemia, 24 (5%) had impaired glucose tolerance and 4 (0.84%) had type 2 DM. One patient with normal glucose balance at admission, who was diagnosed with type 2 DM in the 4th year, was overweight and had a family history of diabetes, hyperinsulinemia, and high HOMA-IR.
Conclusions: The results of our study showed that both obese and overweight children are at risk of developing MetS and type 2 DM, particularly in the presence of risk factors. Close monitoring of these children is important to prevent complications.