Adiposity markers and cardiovascular risk in urban Colombian adolescents: Heterogeneity in association patterns Milton Fabian Suárez-Ortegón a, b, ⁎ , José Guillermo Ortega-Ávila a, b , Jenny Elizabeth Ordóñez-Betancourth c , d , Cecilia Aguilar-de Plata a, b a Department of Physiological Sciences, Universidad del Valle, Cali-Colombia b Nutrition Group, Universidad del Valle, Cali-Colombia c School of Public Health, Universidad del Valle, Cali-Colombia d Epidemiology and Population Health Group, Universidad del Valle, Cali-Colombia ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article history: Received 4 December 2012 Revised 28 December 2012 Accepted 15 January 2013 Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship of tricipital (TS), abdominal (AS), subscapular (SS), and suprailiac (SIS) skinfolds, Body Mass Index (BMI), and Waist Circumference (WC) with 1) variables related to cardiovascular risk (CVR) and 2) the clustering of cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) – referenced pediatric cut-off points – in a multivariate analysis. Materials/Methods. The sample was 1672 adolescents. Glucose, lipid profile, blood pressure and anthropometric variables were measured. Results. Adjusting for age, gender, and caloric intake, the highest quartile (Q4) of adiposity markers was associated to Q4 of biochemical and blood pressure variables. However, the association was not found for WC, SS and TS with glucose, and for diastolic blood pressure (DBP) with TS, SS, and SIS. Triglycerides Q4 was related to Q4 of SS, AS, and SIS after further adjustments, as well as HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) Q1 with Q4 of SS and AS. Glucose Q4 was associated to BMI, AS (Not adjusting for BMI and SIS), and SIS Q4 (Not adjusting for BMI and TS). LDL-Cholesterol (LDL-C) Q4 was associated to TS and SS Q4. The associations of LDL-C Q4 and HDL-C Q1 with WC Q4 were not significant after further adjustments. All the adiposity markers, except WC and TS, were associated to CVRF clustering in all the adjustments. Conclusions. In the adolescents, subcutaneous fat from the trunk (SS, AS, SIS) was better and independently associated to CVR variables and with CVRF clustering than visceral fat (WC). Further research is required to explain the specificity in the described associations. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Skinfolds Waist circumference Adiposity Cardiovascular risk Adolescents METABOLISM CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL 62 (2013) 1000 – 1007 Abbreviations: BMI, Body mass index; WC, Waist circumference; DBP, Diastolic blood pressure; SBP, Systolic blood pressure; LDL-C, LDL cholesterol; HDL-C, HDL cholesterol; TG, Triglycerides; SS, Subscapular skinfold; SIS, Suprailiac skinfold; AS, Abdominal skinfold; TS, Tricipital skinfold; CVR, Cardiovascular risk; CVRF, Cardiovascular risk factors; Q4, Highest quartile; Q1, Lowest quartile. ⁎ Corresponding author. Universidad del Valle (San Fernando). Calle 4B 36-00, Edificio 116, Quinto piso, Oficina 5003, Cali, Colombia. Tel.: + 57 2 5185603. E-mail address: fabian.suarezuv@gmail.com (M.F. Suárez-Ortegón). 0026-0495/$ – see front matter © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.metabol.2013.01.017 Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Metabolism www.metabolismjournal.com