Predicting Metabolic Syndrome Using Anthropometric Indices among Chinese Adolescents with Different Nutritional...

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Public Health
• Endocrinology

Background:

• Metabolic syndrome (MetS) poses a significant health risk in adolescents.
• Accurate screening tools are crucial for early detection and intervention.
• Anthropometric indices are widely used but their predictive power varies across nutritional statuses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the predictive accuracy of four anthropometric indices for MetS in Chinese adolescents.
• To compare the performance of these indices across different weight categories (normal, overweight, obese).
• To identify the most effective anthropometric index for MetS prediction in this population.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 9,513 Chinese adolescents (aged 10-18 years).
• Measurement of anthropometric indices (BMI percentile, waist circumference percentile, waist-height ratio, waist-hip ratio) and blood pressure.
• Biochemical analyses for fasting plasma glucose and lipid profiles; Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.

Main Results:

• All four anthropometric indices demonstrated good predictive accuracy for MetS in the overall cohort (AUCs 0.86-0.94).
• High accuracy was maintained in normal-weight adolescents (AUCs 0.73-0.99).
• Predictive performance was significantly lower in overweight (AUCs 0.66-0.77) and obese (AUCs 0.60-0.67) adolescents, with waist circumference showing the best relative performance.

Conclusions:

• Recommended anthropometric indices and cutoff values are effective for MetS prediction in overall and normal-weight Chinese adolescents.
• These indices are not reliable for screening MetS in overweight and obese adolescents.
• More specific screening strategies are required for overweight and obese adolescents to detect metabolic syndrome.