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Childhood obesity, even without comorbidities, increased adult cardiometabolic risk
Young people who are overweight or obese are at increased risk for developing metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and other cardiovascular complications in adulthood, whether or not metabolic disturbances were present early on, according to research published in Diabetes Care.
Juha Koskinen, MD, PhD, of the Research Centre of Applied and Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Turku in Finland, and colleagues examined data from 1,617 individuals aged 9 to 24 years who participated in the population-based Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns study, launched in 1980, through follow-up 21 to 25 years later.
The researchers looked at four age- and sex-specific phenotypes — group 1: normal weight, no metabolic disturbances; group 2: normal weight, one or more metabolic disturbances; group 3: overweight/obese, no metabolic disturbances; and group 4: overweight/obese, one or more metabolic disturbances — to determine influence on developing high carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome (MetS).
The researchers found IMT (mean ± SEM) higher among participants in group 2 (0.627 ± 0.005 mm, P=.05), group 3 (0.647 ± 0.01 mm, P=.005) and group 4 (0.67 ± 0.01 mm, P<.0001) relative to group 1 (0.616 ± 0.003 mm). Participants in group 4 had significantly higher IMT compared with those in group 2 (P=.002).
Participants in groups 2, 3 and 4 had higher risk for developing MetS in adulthood compared with those in group 1; the difference was attenuated after risk factor adjustments for group 2. The researchers found group 3 and 4 were at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes compared with groups 1 and 2.
“Our analysis of data from a longitudinal observational study supports the encouragement of young individuals to avoid being overweight or obese, irrespective of their metabolic profile,” the researchers wrote.
Disclosure: The Young Finns study has been supported by Academy of Finland grants, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland, Kuopio, Tampere and Turku University Hospital Medical Funds, the Juho Vainio Foundation, the Paavo Nurmi Foundation, the Finnish Foundation of Cardiovascular Research, the Finnish Cultural Foundation, the Tampere Tuberculosis Foundation and the Eemil Aaltonen Foundation.