Abstract

Background: Cardiovascular risk factors are commonly present in obese children. Aim: To evaluate the association among radiological measurements of intra-abdominal adipose tissue, and cardiovascular risk factors, in prepuberal obese children. Patients and Methods: We evaluated 30 obese (body mass index > p95) children aged 6 to 12 years (15 males). Anthropometry and blood pressure were measured. Subcutaneous and intra-abdominal fat thickness and fat area were measured by ultrasound (US) and computed tomography. Serum insulin, glucose and lipid profile were measured in a fasting blood sample. Homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) was calculated as an index of insulin resistance. Results: There was a significant correlation between US intra-abdominal fat thickness and HOMA (r = 0.47, p < 0.01), serum triglycerides (r = 0.46, p < 0.05) and with positive criteria for metabolic syndrome (r = 0.66, p < 0.01). A receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis showed that, above a cut-off of 45 mm for intra-abdominal fat thickness, US was able to identify insulin resistance with a sensibility and specificity of 79 and 69% respectively and metabolic syndrome with sensibility and specificity of 100 and 67% respectively. US and computed tomography measurements for intra-abdominal fat thickness were significantly correlated (r= 0.62, p < 0.01). Conclusions: US measurements of intra-abdominal fat thickness identify obesity-associated damage in childhood. Age-specific measurements of intra-abdominal adipose tissue may improve the detection power of this approach.