Ethnic differences in metabolic syndrome among overweight and obese children and adolescents: the Oslo Adiposity Intervention Study

Aim: Are there differences in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome between obese and overweight Norwegian and immigrant children and adolescents? Methods: Two hundred and three overweight and obese Norwegian, Pakistani, Tamil and Turkish patients aged 6-17 years living in Norway were included. Metabolic syndrome was defined as the presence of at least three abnormal values of waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting triglycerides, fasting glucose and HDL cholesterol. Results: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was significantly higher among the immigrant compared to Norwegian subjects when adjusted for age, gender and BMI-Z-score (20.8 vs. 30.6%; OR = 2.2, 95% CI = 1.05-4.77). The prevalence of metabolic syndrome increased with increasing severity of obesity and reached 50% in severely obese immigrants and 30% in severely obese Norwegians. Among the overweight subjects metabolic syndrome prevalence was 23.5% among immigrants and 19.4% among Norwegians. Conclusion: Metabolic syndrome was found more frequently among children and adolescents with Middle Eastern and South Asian origins than Norwegians. Differences were found even after adjustment for age, sex and degree of obesity. This suggests that ethnic minorities may have an increased sensitivity to adiposity and need more aggressive prevention and treatment than their Norwegian counterparts.