Metabolic syndrome in obese adolescents: what is enough?

OBJECTIVE To study the agreement among three distinct criteria for metabolic syndrome (MS) adapted to adolescents, and to identify associated factors for MS. METHODS Cross-sectional study with 65 obese subjects aged 10 to 18 years, attended to at the Outpatient Clinic for Obese Children and Adolescents at the Clinical Hospital of the Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp). MS was defined using the criteria of the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), and the Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III). Clinical, anthropometrical, and laboratorial data were associated to MS. RESULTS From the 65 subjects, none had MS according to the WHO criteria, while 18 were diagnosed with MS (27.6%) according to the IDF, and 19 (29.2%) according to the ATP III. Agreement between IDF and ATP III was excellent (kappa 81%). In this study, puberty and triglycerides levels showed significant statistical difference when comparing subjects with and without MS, the first for ATP III (p = 0.03), and the second for IDF (p = 0.005) and ATP III (p = 0.001) criteria. CONCLUSION The WHO criteria does not seem to be adequate for adolescents. IDF and ATP III criteria had an excellent agreement. Puberty and triglycerides were associated with MS.