Cutoff points for continuous metabolic risk score in adolescents from southern Brazil

There is no consensus on the best diagnostic criteria for metabolic syndrome (MetS) in the child and adolescent population. Thus, the present study aimed to establish cutoff points for a continuous metabolic risk score (cMetS) in adolescents from southern Brazil.

This was a cross-sectional study conducted between 2014 and 2015. The sample consisted of 1739 schoolchildren (985 girls), aged 10-17 years. cMetS was calculated by sum of the Z-score of the following parameters: waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, glucose, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and cardiorespiratory fitness. Three diagnostic criteria of MetS were used to create cut points for cMetS.

The best cutoff point for cMetS was set at 3.40 for boys (sensitivity: 100.0%, specificity: 92.9%, AUC: 0.978) and 3.61 for girls (sensitivity: 100, 0%, specificity: 93.1%, AUC: 0.991). For these cutoff points, metabolic risk was found in 8.9% of adolescents (9.4% for boys and 8.5% for girls). A linear relationship was found between the mean values of cMetS and the number of components of MetS (mean cMetS -1.09 for no component present and 6.66 for 3 or more components).

The use of cMetS is valid for adolescents and can detect a greater proportion of students with metabolic risk, compared to the current criteria for diagnosis of MetS.