Atherosclerosis risk factors in children of parents with the metabolic syndrome

Background Metabolic syndrome is a constellation of disorders that produces a high risk of atherosclerosis. Endothelial dysfunction is the key event in atherosclerosis and already present even in the childhood. The aim of the present study is to investigate inflammatory and radiological signs of atherosclerosis in children who have parents with the metabolic syndrome. Design and methods Fifty children of parents with the metabolic syndrome and 38 age- and sex-matched controls were studied. Anthropometric measurements, blood pressure assessment, echocardiography, flow-mediated vasodilatation (FMD) which is a non-invasive test for the evaluation of endothelial function and fasting blood measurements including blood glucose, insulin, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triglyceride, hsCRP and soluble CD40 ligand were performed. Results Serum sCD40L and hsCRP levels were significantly higher in the study group compared to the controls. FMD values did not differ between the study and control groups. Increased serum sCD40L levels were positively correlated with body mass index, waist hip ratio, LDL/HDL cholesterol ratio, and the number of metabolic syndrome components in parents, whereas showed negative correlation with the serum HDL cholesterol levels. High hsCRP levels were positively correlated with body mass index and the number of metabolic syndrome components. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that the number of metabolic syndrome components in parents presented as being a significant predictor of the serum sCD40L and hsCRP levels of their children. Conclusion Our results suggest that children of patients with metabolic syndrome have higher values of the serum markers of inflammation, which may be associated with increased risk for development of cardiovascular disease.