Abstract
BackgroundThe prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) in children and adolescents has been increasing at an alarming rate. MS risks during childhood and adolescence adversely affect health conditions in later life. Thus, the characterization of their MS risks is a critical research field. The aims of this study are to survey the health status of Japanese adolescent females, a poorly characterized population, and to investigate the potential relationship between their MS risks and dietary factors like potassium (K) and taurine.MethodsAnthropometric characteristics of 243 healthy school girls aged 13 to 18 years were measured. Serum levels of triglycerides, total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and plasma levels of glucose and insulin were analyzed in fasting blood samples. We assessed overweight, disturbed lipid prolife, higher blood pressure (hBP) and higher plasma glucose (hGlc) levels as indicators of MS risks. The relationships between MS risks and urinary K or taurine excretion were investigated by dividing into higher and lower groups at medians of their urinary excretions.ResultsHalf of junior high school (JHS) and one-quarter of senior high school (SHS) girls had at least one MS risk. The quite common risk was hGlc, the rates being 21% in JHS girls and 14% in SHS. The prevalence of being overweight and obesity were only small portions, the rate being 0% and 0% in JHS girls, and 10% and 1% in SHS, respectively. Substantial differences in the prevalence of hBP were observed between JHS (22%) and SHS (4%) girls. Furthermore, higher urinary K excretion group showed a significant decrease in triglyceride level (P = 0.03) and increase in HDL level (P = 0.003) compared with the lower. Also, the higher urinary taurine excretion group exhibited a significant reduction in triglyceride level (P = 0.04) compared with the lower.ConclusionsThese results indicate that control of plasma glucose level rather than body weight is a crucial task in Japanese pubertal girls, and that a dietary habit rich in K and taurine could improve their lipid profile. Nutritional education based on these findings would help to prevent the future development of MS in Japanese female adolescents.
Highlights
The prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) in children and adolescents has been increasing at an alarming rate
According to the criteria of MS risks in junior high school (JHS) and senior high school (SHS) students established by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in Japan, higher blood pressure (BP), overweight, obesity and increased abdominal circumference (AC) were defined as follows: higher blood pressure (hBP), systolic BP (SBP) ≧ 125 mmHg and/or diastolic BP (DBP) ≧ 70 mmHg for JHS students and SBP ≧ 130 mmHg and/or DBP ≧ 80 mmHg for SHS ones; overweight, body mass index (BMI) ≧ 25; obesity, BMI ≧ 30; increased AC, AC/height ≧ 0.5 or AC ≧ 80 cm for JHS students and AC ≧ 90 cm for SHS ones
According to the criteria of MS risks in JHS and SHS students established by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in Japan, higher plasma glucose and disturbed lipid profile were defined as follows: hGlc, fasting plasma glucose ≧ 110 g/ ml; dLP, serum triglycerides ≧ 120 mg/dl and/or serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL) < 40 mg/dl for JHS students and serum triglycerides ≧ 150 mg/dl and/or serum HDL < 40 mg/dl for SHS ones
Summary
The prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) in children and adolescents has been increasing at an alarming rate. The aims of this study are to survey the health status of Japanese adolescent females, a poorly characterized population, and to investigate the potential relationship between their MS risks and dietary factors like potassium (K) and taurine. Increased excretion of urinary potassium (K), an indicator for vegetables and fruits intakes, was reported to inversely correlate with body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure (BP) [11] These findings indicate that dietary habit beneficially or adversely affect health status and MS risks. We conducted a health survey of 243 healthy school girls aged 13-18 years at Mukogawa High School in Nishinomiya, Japan, to obtain baseline data on the health status of Japanese adolescent females, and investigated the potential relationship between their MS risks and dietary habits by 24-h urine analysis in combination with anthropometric measurements and blood chemical analysis
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