Prevalence and Causes of Hyperuricemia in Children

Associations of overweight and obesity with cardiometabolic risk factor clusters among Korean adolescents

This study investigated the association between overweight, obesity, and cardiometabolic risk factor clusters in Korean adolescents. We included 2182 participants (1161 boys and 1021 girls) aged 12-18 years from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2016-2021). Cardiometabolic risk factors include hypertension, high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) level, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level, hypertriglyceridemia, high fasting plasma glucose level, elevated alanine aminotransferase level, and hyperuricemia. The average age was 15.1 ± 0.1 years in both boys and girls. The proportion of subjects with ≥ 1, ≥ 2, and ≥ 3 cardiometabolic risk factors was 76.5%, 49.8%, and 22.7% in obese adolescents, and 60.5%, 24.0%, and 9.1%, in overweight adolescents, respectively. Compared to adolescents with underweight/normal weight, the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals for the clustering of cardiometabolic risk factors were at 2.76 (1.74-4.38) for ≥ 1; 3.75 (2.11-6.66) for ≥ 2; and 4.75 (1.70-13.25) for ≥ 3 factors in obese adolescents and 1.88 (1.26-2.81) for ≥ 1 factor in overweight adolescents. Overweight and obese adolescents exhibited high cardiometabolic risk clustering. Prevention and management of overweight/obesity in Korean adolescents are emerging to mitigate health risk associated with this condition.

Multilevel Analysis of the Nutritional and Health Status among Children and Adolescents in Eastern China

We aimed to identify multiple nutritional health problems and the relevant factors among children and adolescents aged 7–17 years. This study was part of the China Nutrition and Health Surveillance of Children and Lactating Mothers in 2016–2017, conducted in Jiangsu Province in eastern China. After sampling, 3025 school-age children and adolescents were enrolled into this study. Demographic information collections and anthropometric measurements were conducted by trained local Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) staff. Venous blood in the amount of 6 mL was drawn from each participant in the morning and used for testing biochemical and nutritional indicators. Multivariate logistic regression analysis and Poisson regression analysis were used for overnutrition- and undernutrition-related disorders to test relevant personal, parental, and household factors. The prevalence of wasting, overweight, and obesity was 5.5%, 14.8%, and 12.7%, respectively. Metabolic syndrome (MetS) was prevalent among 5.1% of participants. Among the study participants, 29.5% had hyperuricemia. The overall prevalence of high low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high total cholesterol (TC) of all participants was 4.8% and 7.4%, respectively. 0.9% of the participants had vitamin A deficiency (VAD) and 14.6% had marginal vitamin A deficiency; 25.1% had vitamin D deficiency (VDD) and 54.5% had inadequate vitamin D levels. Anemia was present in 4.0% of all participants. The prevalence of zinc deficiency was 4.8%. Demographic characteristics, behavioral characteristics, parents’ characteristics, and family characteristics were associated with these multiple malnutrition disorders. The double burdens of malnutrition, which includes overnutrition- and undernutrition-related diseases, were prevalent among the school-age children and adolescents in Jiangsu Province in eastern China. There were various factors related to different nutritional problems. Thus, health education focusing on behavior intervention and nutrition education are necessary in containing nutritional problems among children.