Arterial stiffness may be a new risk factor for metabolic syndrome in adolescents, concludes an article published in the American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology. The study was conducted in collaboration between the University of Bristol in the UK, the University of Exeter in the UK and the University of Eastern Finland.
The World Health Organization describes the metabolic syndrome as the constellation of three or more of the following: abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in middle-aged American adults is 30% and increases to 50% in adults older than 60 years. In Finland, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome is 30% in men and 25% in women. Metabolic syndrome increases the risk of worsening obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and premature death.
Already among children 6 to 12 years of age, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome is approximately 3%, while among adolescents 13 to 18 years of age, the prevalence is approximately 5% globally. Among overweight children, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome is 12%, but 29% among obese children. This trend in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome is consistent throughout the world; hence the need to identify novel causes and prevent or reverse the disease.
A new risk factor for metabolic diseases of childhood and adolescence, such as obesity and insulin resistance, is arterial stiffness. This risk factor is establishing itself as a potential cause of type 2 diabetes among adults worldwide. However, it is not clear if arterial stiffness causes metabolic syndrome.
The current study included 3,862 adolescents (1,719 males and 2,413 females) aged 17 who were followed up to 24 years. These adolescents underwent dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry to measure trunk fat mass and skeletal muscle mass, as well as fasting blood samples such as glucose, insulin, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. density, triglycerides and C reagent of high sensitivity. protein, in addition to smoking, socioeconomic status, family history of cardiovascular disease, and moderate to vigorous physical activity. Arterial stiffness was measured by carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity and the presence of any of the three: high blood pressure, high truncal fat mass, high fasting glucose, high fasting triglycerides, or lipoprotein-bound cholesterol. high fasting low density was considered to describe the metabolic syndrome.
The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the study was 5% in men and 1.1% in women at 17 years, but 8.8% in men and 2.4% in women at 24 years. This significant sex difference in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome is due to a higher proportion of men having elevated systolic blood pressure, hyperglycemia, elevated triglycerides, and reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol compared with women. However, women had significantly higher trunk fat mass than men.
During the 7-year follow-up, worsening arterial stiffness was associated with a 9% risk of metabolic syndrome in men, but there was no statistically significant risk among women. Arterial stiffness was also found to potentially cause metabolic syndrome; however, the metabolic syndrome did not cause arterial stiffness. The pathway by which arterial stiffness caused the metabolism syndrome could be partly explained by an increase in fasting insulin (12% contribution) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (9% contribution).
“We are seeing for the first time that arterial stiffness in adolescents is an unknown risk factor for metabolic syndrome that can initiate a cascade of disease processes that could lead to type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and premature death. Early intervention could likely reduce fasting insulin and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, thus eliminating 20% of the possible causative effect of arterial stiffness in metabolic syndrome,” says Andrew Agbaje, a physician and clinical epidemiologist at the University of Eastern Finland.
“Pending successful randomized clinical trials in reversing and treating arterial stiffness, caregivers, pediatricians, public health experts, and policymakers may want to focus on ways to reduce elevated fasting insulin or insulin resistance.” and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, particularly from adolescence through improved diet and physical activity,” continues Agbaje.
Dr. Agbaje’s research group (urFIT-child) is supported by research grants from the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation, the Central Fund of the Finnish Cultural Foundation, the North Savo Regional Fund of the Finnish Cultural Foundation, the Orion Research Foundation sr, Aarne Koskelo Foundation, Antti Foundation and Tyyne Soininen Foundation, Paulo Foundation, Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation, Paavo Nurmi Foundation, Finnish Foundation for Cardiovascular Research and Foundation for Pediatric Research.
—————————————————-
Source link