J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab 2015; aop *Corresponding author: Zehra Esra Önal, MD, Haydarpasa Numune Training and Research Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, Tıbbiye Caddesi, No:40, Selimiye, Uskudar 34668, Istanbul, Turkey, Phone: +90 216 4144502, Fax: +90 216 3360665, E-mail: zehraesraonal@gmail.com Levent Soydan and Mehmet Masum Şimşek: Haydarpasa Numune Training and Research Hospital, Department of Radiology, Tıbbiye Caddesi, Istanbul, Turkey Hatice Eren Öztürk, Çiğdem Sağ, Tamay Gürbüz and Çağatay Nuhoğlu: Haydarpasa Numune Training and Research Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, Tıbbiye Caddesi, Istanbul, Turkey Zehra Esra Önal*, Levent Soydan, Hatice Eren Öztürk, Çiğdem Sağ, Tamay Gürbüz, Çağatay Nuhoğlu and Mehmet Masum Şimşek Carotid intima media thickness in obese children: is there an association with hyperlipidemia? DOI 10.1515/jpem-2015-0221 Received June 3, 2015; accepted August 7, 2015 Abstract Background: We aimed to evaluate the association between hyperlipidemia and carotid intima media thick- ness in obese children, compared to non-obese ones. Methods: Two hundred (110 girls, 90 boys) children aged between 6 and 15 years participated in this study. The obese group included 53 girls, 47 boys whose body mass indices (BMI) above 95th percentile, the control group included 57 girls, 43 boys who had normal weight. Fasting total cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels were measured. Carotid intima media thickness (cIMT) was performed with neck ultrasound. Results: The median thickness of right, left and mean carotis intima media were statistically higher in the study group, compared to the control group. The mean choles- terol, triglyceride, HDL-C, LDL-C levels of the study group were statistically higher, compared to the control group. There was no relationship between BMI and left carotis intima media thickness, but there was statistically signifi- cant relationship between BMI and right, mean cIMTs in the study group. There was no correlation between serum lipid levels and cIMTs in the study group. The mean ath- erogenic index of the study group was statistically higher, compared to the control group. There was no statistical correlation between atherogenic index and cIMTs in both of the groups. Conclusions: We observed that obese children had higher carotis intima media thicknesses. Carotis intima media thickness related to obesity can play an important role in future pre-atherosclerotic changes. Large population based studies are required to confirm this associaton. Keywords: carotid intima media thickness; hyperlipi- demia; obesity. Introduction The prevalence of childhood obesity and its related com- plication of hyperlipidemia has been increasing and causing life-threatening effect on adolescent cardiovas- cular health. Recently, most researchers have focused on childhood visceral fat distribution that could contribute to future atherosclerotic changes in adulthood. Obesity is considered to be a chronic inflammation state, in which the excess accumulation of visceral adipose tissue has a central role (1). Several studies reported a positive corre- lation of carotid intima media thickness with visceral fat accumulation (2, 3). In this study, we evaluated the carotid intima-media thickness in obese children and the association of cIMT with hyperlipidemia. Materials and methods We performed this study in 110 (55%) female and 90 (45%) male chil- dren who were aged between 6 and 15 years. The study group included 53 girls and 47 boys who had BMI above the 95th percentile for age and sex. The control group included 57 girls and 43 boys who had BMI below the 95th percentile. The median age of the children was 10.34±2.79 years. Children with endocrine disorders were excluded. Written consents informing about the tests and the study were obtained from the families. The study was approved by the Local Ethic Committe. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated by: Body weight (kg)/height 2 (m 2 ). Fasting (12 h) venous blood samples were obtained by venipuncture into vacutainer tubes. Once centrifuged, the fractions were separated and frozen at –70 °C. Plasma cholesterol and triglyc- erides were measured using Roche reagent on a Hitachi Modular P autoanalyzer (Roche Diagnostics, IN, USA). High density lipoprotein Brought to you by | Bibliotheque de l'Universite Laval Authenticated Download Date | 12/15/15 2:55 PM