title: Metabolic syndrome risk profiles among African American adolescents: national health and nutrition examination survey, 2003-2010.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Although African American adolescents have the highest prevalence of obesity, they have the lowest prevalence of metabolic syndrome across all definitions used in previous research. To address this paradox, we sought to develop a model of the metabolic syndrome specific to African American adolescents.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2003-2010) of 822 nonpregnant, nondiabetic, African American adolescents (45% girls; aged 12 to 17 years) who underwent physical examinations and fasted at least 8 h were analyzed. We conducted a confirmatory factor analysis to model metabolic syndrome and then used latent profile analysis to identify metabolic syndrome risk groups among African American adolescents. We compared the risk groups on probability of prediabetes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The best-fitting metabolic syndrome model consisted of waist circumference, fasting insulin, HDL, and systolic blood pressure. We identified three metabolic syndrome risk groups: low, moderate, and high risk (19% boys; 16% girls). Thirty-five percent of both boys and girls in the high-risk groups had prediabetes, a significantly higher prevalence compared with boys and girls in the low-risk groups. Among adolescents with BMI higher than the 85th percentile, 48 and 36% of boys and girls, respectively, were in the high-risk group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings provide a plausible model of the metabolic syndrome specific to African American adolescents. Based on this model, approximately 19 and 16% of African American boys and girls, respectively, are at high risk for having the metabolic syndrome.
authors.affiliation: Department ofMedicine, Johns Hopkins School ofMedicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. sfitzpa8@jhmi.edu
authors.forename: Stephanie L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Fitzpatrick
authors.forename: Betty S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Frederick L
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Brancati
authors.forename: Sherita H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Golden
authors.forename: Felicia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hill-Briggs
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D012307:Risk Factors