Prevalence and association of cardiometabolic risk factors with sociodemographic variables amongst teenagers of rural population of central India

The prevalence of the cardio-metabolic risk factors is rapidly increasing amongst the children and adolescents and is a topic of concern due to their induced risk of development of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and diabetes mellitus (DM) in adulthood. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of the cardio-metabolic risk factors associated with sociodemographic variables amongst the teenagers of rural population in India.

This cross-sectional study was carried out on 405 teenagers (13-19 years old) in a rural population of central India. The data on the socio-demographic variables and cardio metabolic risk factors were collected using a predesigned proforma. The blood pressure and body mass index (BMI) of the subjects were also recorded. Blood samples were collected for lipid profile and blood sugar. Data was analyzed with the Epi Info software version 6.04.

A total of 405 subjects were studied, of whom 182 were male and 223 were female.  The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was found to be 9.9% [95% confidence interval (CI): 7.3-13.1]. The prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors, including low level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC) and impaired fasting glucose (IFG), were found to be 58.3% (95% CI: 53.4-63.0) and 13.8% (95% CI: 10.7-17.5), respectively. 2.2% of the teenagers had a waist circumference (WC) more than the cut off (> 90th</sup> percentile), while high blood pressure was found in 24.40% (95% CI: 18.6-26.7), i.e. ></span> 90th</sup> percentile for age, sex, and height. Similarly, risk factors such as obesity and overweight were found significant (P < 0. 05) in teenagers with family history of obesity.

Cardiometabolic risk factors is slowly extending to rural areas. Therefore, early detection of these risk factors can be an attempt to prevent or delay the metabolic syndromes, DM, and CVDs.