Metabolic syndrome in about 1 in 10 teens

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Metabolic syndrome, a clustering of risk factors for heart disease and diabetes, is found in about 9 percent of U.S. teenagers, a study found.

Study leader Dr. Stephen Cook of the University of Rochester Medical Center said the findings are some of the first concentrated efforts to define and measure metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents, which has proved trickier in youth than it has been in adults.

"Even if there is no consensus on a pediatric-specific definition, the fact that 1 in 4 obese teens meet the adult definition for this clustering of cardiovascular disease risk factors is enough of a concern," Cook said in a statement. "Many longitudinal studies have shown that adults with this definition are at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease and dying prematurely from heart disease."

Cook said adolescents who meet a definition for metabolic syndrome are not going to develop diabetes or have a heart attack in the next few years, but some of the longitudinal studies presented at this meeting showed they were at very high risk for developing diabetes or heart disease in their 30s, Cook said.

The findings are published in February's Journal of Pediatrics.