Lower waist circumference in mildly-stunted adolescents is associated with elevated insulin concentration

• Autor(a) principal: Clemente,Ana Paula Grotti
• Data de Publicação: 2014
• Outros Autores: Santos,Carla Danusa da Luz, Martins,Vinicius J.B., Albuquerque,Maria Paula, Fachim,Mariana B., Sawaya,Ana Lydia
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Jornal de Pediatria (Online)
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0021-75572014000500479
• topic: Waist circumference; Height; Insulin

Objective:Augmented waist circumference (WC) is associated with non-communicable diseases and could represent a valuable marker in screening for metabolic dysfunctions in subjects with insufficient linear growth. The objective of the present study was to determine whether bio-chemical and hemodynamic parameters and waist circumference vary between mildly-stunted and non-stunted adolescents from impoverished communities of São Paulo, Brazil.Methods:The cross-sectional study involved 206 subjects, aged between 9 and 19 years and living in impoverished areas of São Paulo, Brazil. The sample population was divided according to height-for-age Z-score (HAZ) into stunted (−1 > HAZ ≥ −2) and non-stunted (HAZ ≥ −1) groups, and was sub-divided according to gender. Logistic regression analysis was employed to compare individuals with elevated (> 75thpercentile) insulin concentrations. The receiver operating characteristic curves were constructed to determine WC cut-off points that could be used to identify stunted and non-stunted individuals with elevated insulin concentrations.Results:WC cut-off points of 58.25 cm and 67.2 cm allowed for correct classification of 90.7% of stunted and 88.7% of non-stunted individuals in the studied population. While the sensitivity of the model was high for stunted and non-stunted subjects (98.8% and 97.2%, respectively), the specificity was modest (57.1% and 41.2%, respectively).Conclusion:The results presented herein suggest that an increase in plasma insulin is one of the primary metabolic modifications in stunted individuals, and that this alteration could be identified at a lower WC cut-off point than in non-stunted counterparts.