Cardiometabolic Disease Risk Factors and Lifestyle Behaviors Among Adolescents: A Latent Class Analysis

Background/Objectives: Cardiometabolic disease (CD) risk factors refer to the conditions that increase the likelihood of developing several health complications. The purpose of this study was to identify latent classes of CD risk factors among Brazilian adolescents and their association with sociodemographic and lifestyle behaviors. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving 349 adolescents aged 15 to 19 years old. A latent class analysis (LCA) was performed based on body mass index, body fat percentage, waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio, and blood pressure. Demographic characteristics and lifestyle variables related to screen time (ST), moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), sedentary behavior (SB), and sleep duration were assessed through questionnaires. Results: Three CD risk factor classes were identified as follows: "Low Risk" (Class 1 = 79.5% of the sample), "Moderate Risk" (Class 2 = 8.6%), and "High Risk" (Class 3 = 11.9%). Sex and high ST (defined as >4 h/day) were associated with a greater likelihood of belonging to the higher CD risk classes. Adolescents with high ST presented a 4.39 (CI 95% 1.64-11.07) times greater chance of belonging to the "High Risk" instead of the "Low Risk" class. Adolescents with longer MVPA time had a higher probability of belonging to the "Low CD Risk" class. Conclusions: Female adolescents with less MVPA, more ST, and higher SB had a higher probability of being classified as "Higher CD Risk". Efficient strategies to increase MVPA and reduce ST may contribute to the reduction in body fat accumulation and BP, which are the manifest variables in the proposed model.