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Temperament and metabolic syndrome precursors in children: a three-year follow-up
N Ravaja1, L Keltikangas-Järvinen
1Department of Psychology, University of Helsinki, Finland.
Insights
Childhood temperament influences metabolic syndrome risk. Positive traits like mental vitality are linked to lower risk, while hyperactivity and negative emotionality are associated with higher risk, especially in boys.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Behavioral Science
- Metabolic Health
Background:
- The metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions that increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.
- Early identification of risk factors in children is crucial for long-term health.
- Temperament, a child's characteristic behavioral style, has been an area of interest in relation to health outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the cross-sectional and predictive associations between temperament and metabolic syndrome parameters in children.
- To investigate if specific temperamental traits predict the development of metabolic syndrome precursors over time.
Main Methods:
- A 3-year longitudinal study involving 1,589 healthy children aged 6, 9, 12, and 15 years.
- Assessment of metabolic syndrome precursors including serum insulin, glucose, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, systolic blood pressure, and body-mass index.
- Maternal ratings of children's temperament using a questionnaire and semantic differential.
Main Results:
- Temperamental factors showed both cross-sectional relationships and predictive value for metabolic syndrome precursors.
- Positive temperamental traits (mental vitality, positive emotionality) were associated with lower somatic risk.
- Negative temperamental traits (hyperactivity, negative emotionality, anger, aggression) and cooperativeness were linked to higher somatic risk.
- These associations were more pronounced in boys than in girls.
Conclusions:
- Temperament may play a significant role in the early development of the metabolic syndrome.
- Understanding the interplay between temperament and metabolic health can inform early intervention strategies.
- Further research is warranted to explore gender-specific influences of temperament on metabolic health.
Background:
Cross-sectional and predictive associations between temperament and some essential parameters of the metabolic syndrome were examined in children.
Methods:
A 3-year follow-up study of 1,589 randomly selected, healthy, 6-, 9-, 12-, and 15-year-old children was used. Somatic parameters studied were serum insulin, serum glucose, serum HDL cholesterol, serum triglycerides, systolic blood pressure, and body-mass index. Temperament of the subjects was rated by their mothers using a questionnaire and a semantic differential.
Results:
Temperamental factors were related cross-sectionally to, as well as predicted for, the metabolic syndrome precursors over the 3-year period. Mental vitality and positive emotionality were likely to be related and positive emotionality were likely to be related to a low somatic risk level, whereas hyperactivity, negative emotionality (e.g., aggression and anger), responsivity to others, and cooperativeness were related to a high level of somatic risk. These associations were more evident in boys than in girls.
Conclusions:
It was suggested that temperament might be of importance in the early development of the metabolic syndrome.