title: Serum vitamin A status is associated with obesity and the metabolic syndrome among school-age children in Chongqing, China.
abstract: The aim of our study was to examine the association of vitamin A status with obesity and the metabolic syndrome (MS) in school-age children in Chongqing, China. A cross-sectional study was conducted of 1,928 children aged 7~11 years from 5 schools in Chongqing, China. Body height, weight, waist circumference (WC) and blood pressure were measured. Blood glucose, lipids and vitamin A were determined. Overall prevalences for overweight, obesity and MS were 10.1%, 6.7% and 3.5%, respectively. There were 274 (14.2%) marginally vitamin A deficient (MVAD) children and 53 (2.8%) vitamin A deficient (VAD) children, respectively. Serum vitamin A in the obese group was significantly lower than in the overweight and normal weight groups (p<0.001). Body mass index (BMI), WC, high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and glucose were strongly associated with vitamin A status (p<0.05). In a separate model adjusted for age and sex, compared with normal children, participants with obesity had a significantly higher risk of having vitamin A insufficiency (<=1.05 μmol/L) (OR: 2.37; 95% CI: 1.59, 3.55) (p<0.001), and participants with MS had a 1.99-fold (95% CI: 1.14, 3.47) greater risk of having vitamin A insufficiency (p=0.016), while participants with VAD had significantly higher risk of having MS (OR: 3.82; 95% CI: 1.44, 10.2) (p=0.007). Vitamin A insufficiency among Chongqing urban school-age children was found to be a severe health problem, significantly associated with obesity, hypertriglyceridemia and MS.
authors.affiliation: Children's Nutrition Research Center, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, PR China.|Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, PR China.|Chongqing International Science and Technology Cooperation Center for Child Development and Disorders, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, PR China.|Key Laboratory of Paediatrics in Chongqing, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, PR China.
authors.forename: Xiaoping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Children's Nutrition Research Center, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, PR China.|Key Laboratory of Paediatrics in Chongqing, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, PR China.
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Children's Nutrition Research Center, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, PR China.|Key Laboratory of Paediatrics in Chongqing, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, PR China.
authors.forename: Jiaoyang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, PR China.|Chongqing International Science and Technology Cooperation Center for Child Development and Disorders, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, PR China.|Key Laboratory of Paediatrics in Chongqing, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, PR China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, PR China.|Chongqing International Science and Technology Cooperation Center for Child Development and Disorders, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, PR China.|Key Laboratory of Paediatrics in Chongqing, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, PR China.
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.affiliation: Children's Nutrition Research Center, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, PR China.|Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, PR China.|Chongqing International Science and Technology Cooperation Center for Child Development and Disorders, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, PR China.|Key Laboratory of Paediatrics in Chongqing, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, PR China.
authors.forename: Youxue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, PR China.|Chongqing International Science and Technology Cooperation Center for Child Development and Disorders, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, PR China.|Key Laboratory of Paediatrics in Chongqing, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, PR China.
authors.forename: Xiaoqiu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Children's Nutrition Research Center, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, PR China. Email: tyli@vip.sina.com.|Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, PR China.|Chongqing International Science and Technology Cooperation Center for Child Development and Disorders, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, PR China.|Key Laboratory of Paediatrics in Chongqing, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, PR China.
authors.forename: Tingyu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D014505:Urban Population; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000097:blood*; D014802:Vitamin A Deficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055105:Waist Circumference
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D014280:Triglycerides; D014801:Vitamin A