Reevaluation of the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in an urban area of Turkey

Objective: our aim was to reveal a change in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (ms) in the province of konya in five years. methods: we studied 202 obese children and adolescents (body mass index >95th percentile) aged between 7 and 18 years. the diagnosis of impaired glucose tolerance,type 2 diabetes mellitus (t2dm),and ms were defined according to the modified world health organization criteria adapted for children. results: ms was found in 56.4% with a significantly higher rate among adolescents aged 12-18 years (63.2%) than among prepubertal children aged 7-11 years (47%) (p=0.01). the prevalence figures for insulin resistance,glucose intolerance,and t2dm were 60,8,and 2% among prepubertal children and 81.8,12.8,and 0% among adolescents,respectively. the prevalence of fasting hyperinsulinemia in adolescents was significantly higher than in prepubertal children (p<0.001). hypertension was significantly more common in adolescents (42.8%) than in prepubertal children (32.9%) (p=0.04). conclusions: we found that the incidence of ms in the city center of konya approximately doubled in the last five years with increased rates of morbidity and abnormal lipid profiles. © journal of clinical research in pediatric endocrinology,published by galenos publishing.