CORRELATION OF THE COMPONENTS OF THE METABOLIC SYNDROME IN CHILDREN WITH CORONARY ANGIOGRAPHY FINDINGS an‎d CARDIO-METABOLIC RISK FACTORS IN THEIR PARENTS

INTRODUCTION: Although coronary artery disease (CAD) becomes symptomatic late in life, early identification and modification of risk factors may reduce its future incidence. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 108 subjects aged 6-18 years were randomly selected from among children of patients who underwent coronary angiography at Chamran Heart Center, Isfahan, Iran. The parents were assigned to two groups according to the presence or not of coronary stenosis in angiography. Each group was divided into two subgroups, with or without the metabolic syndrome. All of the subjects were aged below 55 years. In addition to anthropometric measurements, blood pressure, fasting serum glucose, and insulin level were measured and lipid profile was assessed in the children of the patients. The data were analyzed with SPSS using independent t-test, Kruskal-Wallis, chi-square and standard linear multiple regression tests. RESULTS: In the group with stenosis in coronary angiography, the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome components was significantly higher in children of parents with the metabolic syndrome than in the other group (24 vs. 18; P=0.003). In the group without stenosis in coronary angiography, the children of parents with the metabolic syndrome had higher triglyceride (TG) levels and lower levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, total cholesterol, and fasting blood glucose. CONCLUSIONS: Our study emphasizes the importance of primordial and primary prevention of cardiovascular disease, especially in children of families with high risk of premature atherosclerosis.