Assessment of cardiometabolic risk factors among adolescent survivors of childhood cancer

Introduction. Survivors of childhood cancer have an increased risk of developing cardiovascular and metabolic disease as adults, secondary to cancer treatment. During adolescence, habits are developed which have a negative impact on the development of these conditions. Objectives. To estimate the prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors among adolescent survivors of childhood cancer (ASCC) and compare them to healthy adolescents. Population and methods. Cross-sectional, analytical study. Location: Department of Adolescence, Hospital Elizalde, Buenos Aires. Subjects included were 61 ASCC and 138 healthy adolescents. Age: 15 +/- 3 years old, range: 10-21 years old. The level of physical activity in the past 30 days, adding salt to foods, weekly consumption of fruit and vegetables, tobacco use, alcohol use, body mass index, and waist circumference were analyzed. Results. ASCC were significantly more obese (19.7% versus 7.2%, p=0.019, odds ratio 3.01) and had a larger waist circumference (19.7% versus 8%, p=0.017, odds ratio 2.82) than healthy adolescents. In addition, they did not eat vegetables more frequently (26.2% versus 13%, p=0.017). No statistically significant differences were found in terms of prevalence for the other risk factors: usually adding salt to foods (55.7%), lack of fruit consumption (32.8%), low level of physical activity (60.7%), tobacco use (4.9%), and alcohol use (39%). Conclusions. ASCC had a higher risk for obesity and a larger waist circumference; in addition, they ate less vegetables than adolescents without a history of cancer. The prevalence of the remaining factors for cardiometabolic risk was similar.