The stability of cardiometabolic risk factors clustering in children and adolescents: a 2-year longitudinal study

Abstract

Objective: The present study aims to verify the odds of remaining with the clustering of 3 or more, 4 or more, and 5 or more risk factors across a 2-year time span. Methods: Observational longitudinal study that included 358 children and adolescents (10.96 ± 2.28 years of age at baseline). Cardiorespiratory fitness, glucose, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio, triglycerides, and waist circumference were assessed. The number of children in whom the risk factors were not independently distributed was analyzed. Odds ratios of presenting n risk factors clustered at follow-up according to the number of risk factors observed at baseline were calculated. Results: More participants than expected were found presenting clustering of 4 or more and 5 or more risk factors at both baseline (11.7% and 5.6%, respectively) and follow-up (9.5% and 5.6%, respectively). The odds ratios calculated demonstrated that the odds of presenting the same number of risk factors clustered or more at follow-up increased according to the number of risk factors clustered at baseline. Conclusion: The higher the number of risk factors a child had at baseline, the higher the odds of presenting the same number of risk factors or more after two years of follow-up.