Child's wrist size may indicate future heart health
Font size:
y Aimee Keenan-Greene
A new study in the Aprill 11, 2011 issue of the journal Circulation says wrist circumference is a clinical marker of insulin resistance in overweight and obese children and adolescents.
Capizzi M. of University "Sapienza," in Rome, Italy and colleagues were looking for an easy-to-detect clinical marker of insulin resistance which can be used to identify kids at increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
The researchers studied 477 overweight/obese children and adolescents (mean age 10.31±2.80 years).
Standard deviation score body mass index, fasting biochemical parameters, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance were evaluated.
Statistical differences were investigated using "multiple linear regression analysis".
All the children and adolescents had their wrists measured manually.
However, fifty-one kids had nuclear magnetic resonance wrist imaging to evaluate transversal wrist area at the Lister tubercle level.
The authors of the study say "a statistically significant association was found between manual measure of wrist circumference and insulin levels or homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (β=0.34 and 0.35, respectively; P<10-5 for both comparisons)."
They add, the associations were more significant than those between SD score body mass index and insulin levels or homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (β=0.12 and 0.10, respectively; P0.02 for both comparisons).
They write "Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging acquisition clarified that the association between wrist circumference and insulin levels or homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance reflected the association with bone tissue-related areas (P0.01 for both) but not with the adipose tissue ones (P>0.05), explaining 20 percent and 17 percent of the variances of the 2 parameters"
The American Heart Association says excess fat is one of the main determinants of insulin resistance, representing the metabolic basis for developing future cardiovascular disease.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says childhood obesity affects approximately 12.5 million children and teens.
Add to:
del.icio.us |
Digg
del.icio.us |
Digg
Email to a friend
Print version
Plain text
Home
Set as homepage
Add to favorites
Mobile site
Rss
Plain text
Archive