Karaagac AT, Erdönmez D. Cardiometabolic Risk Proile and its Relation with the Waist Circumference to Height Ratio in Turkish School-Age Children. Int J Pediat Health Care Adv. 2017;4(7):59-62. 59 OPEN ACCESS http://scidoc.org/IJPA.php International Journal of Pediatric Health Care & Advancements (IJPA) ISSN 2572-7354 Cardiometabolic Risk Proile and its Relation with the Waist Circumference to Height Ratio in Turkish School-Age Children Research Article Karaagac AT 1* , Erdönmez D 2 1 Kartal Koşuyolu Research and Training Hospital, University of Health Sciences, Pediatry, Istanbul, Turkey. 2 Acıbadem University Hospital Faculty of Medicine, Pediatry, Istanbul, Turkey. Introduction Cardiometabolic risk refers to a high risk for cardiovascular diseases and diabetes due to obesity, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia and hypertension [1, 2]. As the school-age children have increasingly common sedentary life styles and tendency to consume junk food, they have become more vulnerable to obesity and related cardiometabolic risk factors (CMRF). These children should be deined and regularly controlled due to the increased morbidity and mortality risks later in adult life [1, 3, 4]. Although waist circumference (WC) and body mass index (BMI) are used as the major determinants of obesity, WC correlates more strongly with visceral adipose tissue than BMI, both in adults and in children. However, cardiometabolic risks are expected to be different between two people with the same WC, but different heights [5]. This study was designed to determine the cardiometabolic characteristics, BMI and WHtR of Turkish school-age children and to analyze whether WHtR could be utilised for screening the children with increased CMRF. Material And Methods 6-12 year-old (mean 9.4 ± 2.03 years) 310 overweight school- age children (150 females, 160 males) were included in this cross sectional study. They were evaluated in the pediatry outpatient clinic of Kartal Koşuyolu Research and Training Hospital, University Abstract Background: Obesity, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes have been rapidly increasing in pediatric age group all around the world. Therefore, cardiometabolic risk factors (CMRF) should be carefully screened beginning from the school ages. The aim of this study was to deine the CMRF and to determine their correlations with the weight for height ratios (WHtR) in Turkish school-age children. Methods: 6-12 year-old, 310 overweight children (150 females, 160 males) evaluated in the pediatry outpatient clinic of Kartal Koşuyolu Research and Training Hospital between January, 2016-February, 2017 were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Their weights, heights, waist circumferences (WC) and blood pressures were recorded; body mass indices (BMI) and WHtR were calculated; blood glucose, cholesterol and triglyceride levels were analyzed. Children with BMI ≥ 85 th percen- tile were accepted as overweight. The correlations between the CMRF, age and gender of children and their WHtR were analyzed statistically. Results: Dyslipidemia, increased BMI and WC were more common CMRF than hypertension and hyperglycemia in Turk- ish school-age children. CMRF had quite signiicant relationship with gender and moderately signiicant relation with age. Male children had higher lipid, glucose and blood pressure levels than females. Moreover, a signiicant association was demonstrated between the CMRF and WHtR in both gender. (p values <0.05). Conclusion: Male children carry higher cardiometabolic risk than their female counterparts. WHtR can be used to detect children with increased CMRF in pediatric outpatient clinics. It is important to take measures to prevent morbidity and mortality due to metabolic syndrome in adult life. Keywords: Cardiometabolic Risk Factors; Children; Height; Waist Circumference; Weight; Ratio. *Corresponding Author: Aysu Türkmen Karaağaç, MD, Kartal Koşuyolu Research and Training Hospital, University of Health Sciences, Denizer Cad, Cevizli Kavşağı, No:2, 34846, Kartal, Istanbul, Turkey. Tel: 0(533)5679965 Fax: 0(216)5001500/1101 E-mail: aysukaraagac@gmail.com Received: June 13, 2017 Accepted: November 13, 2017 Published: November 15, 2017 Citation: Karaagac AT, Erdönmez D. Cardiometabolic Risk Proile and its Relation with the Waist Circumference to Height Ratio in Turkish School-Age Children. Int J Pediat Health Care Adv. 2017;4(7):59-62. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.19070/2572-7354-1700017 Copyright: Karaagac AT © 2017. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.