Glycemic index, glycemic load, and metabolic syndrome in Mexican adolescents: a cross-sectional study from the NHNS-2012

Background: The role of dietary glycemic index (GI) and dietary glycemic load (GL) on metabolic syndrome (MetS) in youth populations remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association among dietary GI, dietary GL, and MetS and its components in Mexican adolescents. Methods: This study was conducted within the framework of the National Health and Nutrition Survey 2012, a cross-sectional, probabilistic, population-based survey with a multistage stratified cluster sampling design. We analyzed a sample of 1346 subjects aged 12–19 years, representing 13,164,077 adolescents. Dietary habits were assessed through a validated semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire. We assigned GI values using the International Tables of GI values. We defined MetS according to the International Diabetes Federation criteria developed for adolescents. Multiple logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to evaluate the association between categories of dietary GI and GL and the prevalence of MetS and its components. Results: We observed no associations between dietary GI or GL and MetS prevalence. Female adolescents in the highest category of dietary GI had higher odds of abnormal blood pressure (OR = 3.66; 95% CI, 1.46–9.22; P for trend = 0.012). A high dietary GL was also associated with higher odds of abnormal blood pressure in female adolescents (OR = 5.67; 95% CI, 1.84–17.46; P for trend = 0.003). Conclusions: We found higher odds of abnormal blood pressure for female adolescents with a high dietary GI and dietary GL.