title: Is it possible a new definition of metabolic syndrome in childhood?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate whether a group of Italian children and adolescents who were diagnosed to have metabolic syndrome (MS) according to a new ethnic age and gender specific definition had, in comparison with a control group, other signs and metabolic risk factors which are commonly associated with MS.
  
  
  METHODS
  The cross-sectional study population included 300 subjects (51% boys, age range 6-14 years), who were divided into 2 groups according to the presence of MS, diagnosed on the basis of 3/5 factors derived from the age and gender specific quantile distribution of MS components in a large regional Italian population survey (Calabrian Sierras Community Study, CSCS). In all subjects the following data were collected: anthropometric measures, blood pressure, liver function, C-reactive protein (hsCRP), uric acid blood levels, lipid and glucose profile. Triglycerides/HDL-cholesterol (TG/HDL-C) ratio was calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 38 subjects (13%) with MS, who had higher indices of growth and fat distribution and higher blood levels of uric acid, alanine aminotransferase and gamma-glutamyltransferase. TG/HDL ratio was higher (median 3.11 vs. 1.14, p = 0.00001) in MS subjects who had lower apolipoprotein A and higher apolipoprotein B and non-HDL-C levels. hsCRP was not different between groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our ethnic age and gender specific definition of MS in Italian children and adolescents was able to identify in a youth group different cardiometabolic risk factors related to insulin resistance, endothelial damage and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, which are commonly associated with MS diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Child Neuropsychiatry, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy. francesco.martino30@tin.it.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Martino
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pannarale
authors.forename: P E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Puddu
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Colantoni
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zanoni
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Martino
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Torromeo
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Paravati
authors.forename: F M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Perla
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Barillà
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D002648:Child; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007333:Insulin Resistance / Q000502:physiology; D007558:Italy / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology*; D065626:Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology; D012307:Risk Factors; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D014280:Triglycerides; D000410:Alanine Transaminase