Metabolic syndrome and juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is the most prevalent chronic arthropathy in childhood and adolescence. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome, as well as obesity, is increasing rapidly in all age groups, including children. Metabolic syndrome is defined as a cluster of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus, including abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia and hypertension. Besides those components, inflammation has been increasingly considered as a significant component of metabolic syndrome and obesity, and patients with diseases characterized by the presence of chronic inflammation, such as JIA, could represent special risk groups. Glucocorticoids are used routinely in the management of the inflammation of JIA, in high doses and long-term. Long-term use of the glucocorticoids can cause to insulin resistance, hypertension, and obesity, increasing the risk of metabolic syndrome. The aim of this study is to review the literature on the prevalence of different components of metabolic syndrome in patients with JIA. We observed that the data on metabolic syndrome and its components in those patients are very scarce and more studies needed, in view of the potential increased risk of cardiovascular disease.