Metabolic Profile and Clustering of Metabolic Syndrome Components in Children and Adolescents With Overweight and Obesity Attending Secondary Care in Mexico: A Single-Center Cross-Sectional Study.

Abstract

This single-center cross-sectional study described the metabolic profile and clustering of metabolic syndrome components in 202 children and adolescents aged 10 to 16 years with overweight or obesity attending secondary care in Mexico. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to International Diabetes Federation criteria. Abdominal obesity was highly prevalent (88.6%), followed by low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (52.5%) and hypertriglyceridemia (43.1%), whereas elevated fasting glucose and blood pressure were less frequent. Overall, 37.1% met the criteria for metabolic syndrome, and 38.1% presented 3 or more concurrent components, indicating substantial cardiometabolic clustering. Increasing component burden was associated with higher body mass index (BMI)-for-age z-scores, alanine aminotransferase, and uric acid levels. In ordinal logistic regression, older age and higher BMI-for-age z-score were independently associated with greater component burden, whereas sex and pubertal stage were not. These findings indicate a high burden of cardiometabolic abnormalities not fully captured by a dichotomous diagnosis, underscoring the need for comprehensive metabolic assessment in routine pediatric practice.