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Endocrine Abstracts (2016) 45 P60 | DOI: 10.1530/endoabs.45.P60

BSPED2016 Poster Presentations Obesity (2 abstracts)

Association between waist circumference and family history of cardiovascular disease in a group of overweight/obese children and adolescents

Zacharoula Karabouta 1 , Vasiliki Bisbinas 2 , James E Greening 3 & Tonia Vassilakou 4


12nd Paediatric Department, University General Hospital AHEPA, Thessaloniki, Greece; 2School of Medicine, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece; 3University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Paediatrics, Leicester, UK; 4Department of Nutrition and Biochemisrty, National School of Public Health (ESDY), Athens, Greece.


Introduction: Central obesity may be the cause of cardiometabolic disorders in adults. In children visceral adiposity is also associated with cardiometabolic risk factors. Waist circumference (WC) is a good surrogate marker of central adiposity, simple to measure. Paediatric studies indicate that within a particular Body mass Index (BMI) category, children with large WC have higher cardiovascular risk than those with smaller WC.

Aim: To examine the relationship between WC and family history (FH) of cardiovascular disease(CVD) in a group of overweight/obese (ov/ob) children and adolescents.

Methods: children/adolesccents aged 7–13 years (33 healthy controls matched for age and sex, 35 ov/ob) participated in the study. Anthropometry (weight, height, puberty staging, Body mass Index (BMI), WC) and physical examination were performed in all, FH of CVD taken.Statistical analysis was performed with IBM Statistics SPSS 20.0, the statistical significance was set at P<0.05.

Results: Positive CVD FH was noted in 15/35 ov/ob children/adolescents(65.2%), only in 8/33(34.8%) healthy controls. Significant effect of group was noted in WC, with WC mean value 93±14.6 cm in the ov/ob group, 62.7±9.5 cm in the control group respectively (P<0.001). Significant interaction was found between WC, CVD FH and group (P=0.022). In the ov/ob group statistically significant difference was noted between those with positive FH (98.7±16.8 cm) and negative (88.5±11.1 cm) respectively (P=0.015). Moreover, the ov/ob group differed significantly from the control group showing higher mean values in both negative (88.5±11.1 cm vs 63.8±9.6 cm, P<0.001) and positive CVD FH (98.7±16.8 cm vs 59.3±8.8 cm, P<0.001), Also, significant difference found in WC between ov/ob children/adolescents with positive CVD FH and those with negative (Mann-Whitney U=84, P=0.042). For those with positive FH the median WC value was increased (97 cm, 69.4–128.5) compared with those with negative (median WC 85.5 cm, 75–120), (table 1).

Table 1 Descriptive statistics of WC and FH of CVD in the ov/ob group.
CVD FH (N)MinimumMaximumMedianMean±SD
Positive (15)69.4128.59798.7±16.8
Negative (19)7512085.588.5±11.1

Conclusion: Increasing abdominal obesity is concerning in all European countries. In a recent greek study between children aged 6–12 years the WC mean values increased from 60.8±7.1 to 65.0±7.7 cm in a 2-year period. Preventive and treatment strategies are urgently needed to combat this obesity epidemic in all countries to reduce the associated CVD risk in adult life.

Volume 45

44th Meeting of the British Society for Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes

British Society for Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes 

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