Authors

Omid Safari, Hanieh-Sadat Ejtahed, Nazli Namazi, Ramin Heshmat, Reza Arjmand, Shahrokh Karbalahi Saleh, Ehsan Seif, Armindokht Shahsanai, Mohammad Esmaeil Motlagh, Mohammad Esmaeili Abdar, Mostafa Qorbani & Roya Kelishadi

Affiliations

Department of Pediatrics, Child Growth and Development Research Center, Research Institute for Primordial Prevention of Non-Communicable Disease, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

1 Department of Urology, School of Medicine, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
2 Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Modeling in Health Research Center, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
3 Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Physiology Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran

Abstract

Purpose

The object of the present study was to examine the relationship of short stature and obesity with cardio-metabolic risk factors in children and adolescents from Iran.

Methods

Present nationwide cross-sectional study was conducted as a part of the fifth survey of CASPIAN study on 7 to 18 years old children and adolescents from 30 provinces of Iran in 2015. Short stature and excess weight were defined as age and sex-specific height lower than 5th percentile and BMI higher than 85th percentile respectively. The multivariate logistic regression model was applied to assess the aim of the study.

Results

A total of 3844 children and adolescents (52.4%: boys, 72.2%: urban areas) with an average age of 12.45 ± 3.04 years were enrolled in this study. The prevalence of short stature, excess weight and combined-short stature and excess weight was estimated as 15.8%, 17.6% and 2.2%. Odds of abdominal obesity in children with only short stature (OR: 2.11, 95%CI: 1.59–2.80), only excess weight (OR: 17.38, 95%CI: 13.89–21.75) and combined-short stature and excess weight (OR: 22.83, 95%CI: 13.93–37.39) were higher than children with normal-height and weight. Moreover, odds of high BP and metabolic syndrome were further in the students with combined excess weight and short stature compared to the normal-height and weight group.

Conclusion

We found that abdominal obesity, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome in short stature and obese children and adolescents were greater than those with normal-height and weight. Further prospective evaluations are required to clarify the association between short stature and cardio-metabolic risk factors.