[Lipid profile and hormonal study in the schoolchildren of the province of Alicante].
BACKGROUND
Childhood obesity has increased alarmingly in Europe and the USA, with a rise in the consequences of this epidemic, such as type 2 diabetes, hyperlipidemia and cardiovascular disease.


OBJECTIVE
To study the lipid and hormonal profile of schoolchildren in the province of Alicante and to analyze the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and the variables of interest in this study.


METHODS
We performed a cross-sectional epidemiological study of a cohort of schoolchildren (6-11 years) from the province of Alicante (n = 394, 204 boys and 190 girls). Height and weight were measured. We measured the following analytic variables: total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), triglycerides, leptin, thyrotropin (TSH), free thyroxin (T4), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), cortisol, androstenedione, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), testosterone and estradiol. Obesity was defined as a BMI > or = 2 SD, using the population curves in the longitudinal study of Zaragoza (Spain) as the reference.


RESULTS
When studying lipid risk, we observed that 13.5% had cholesterol levels of > 200 mg/dl, 9.4% had triglyceride levels of > 100 mg/dl and 30.5% had LDL-c/HDL-c values of > 2.2. We found a correlation between BMI and plasmatic concentrations of triglycerides (r = 0.23), IGF-1 (r = 0.211), leptin (r = 0.583), androstenedione, DHEAS, testosterone and estradiol (r = 0.35, r = 0.27, r = 0.23 and r = 0.15, respectively). There was a negative correlation between BMI and HDL-c (r = -0.21) and cortisol (r = -0.09). There was no statistically significant correlation between the degree of obesity and concentrations of cholesterol (p = 0.434) and LDL-c (p = 0.452).


CONCLUSIONS
We observed a high prevalence of lipid disturbances in children under 11 years old in our population in relation to obesity.
Ruiz Pérez
Lorea
L
Unidad de Endocrinología Infantil. Servicio de Pediatría. Hospital General Universitario de Alicante. Alicante. España. LOREARUIZ@HOTMAIL.COM
Zapico Alvarez-Cascos
María
M
Zubiaur Cantalapiedra
Ainhoa
A
Alfayate Guerra
Rocío
R
Sánchez-Paya
José
J
Flores Serrano
José
J
D000886:Anthropometry; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006728:Hormones / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology; D050177:Overweight / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012016:Reference Values; D012306:Risk; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology
D006728:Hormones; D008055:Lipids