Abstract

Once thought to be a concern of developed nations, low- and middle-income countries are now witnessing a rapid rise in overweight and obesity. Among children of 5-19 years, a huge leap in the prevalence of overweight and obesity was observed during the last 4 decades. Obese children are at increased risk of cardiometabolic morbidities such as hypertension, insulin resistance, diabetes mellitus (DM). Microalbuminuria (MA) denotes endothelial dysfunction and is associated with higher susceptibility to cardiovascular disease in adults.

Objective: To assess the prevalence of microalbuminuria and its association with cardiometabolic risk factors in children with obesity and overweight.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in children aged 2-15 years with exogenous obesity and overweight. MA was defined as a urinary albumin to urinary creatinine ratio (UACR) of>30 mg/g and <300 mg/g. Weight Hip ratio (WHR), Weight height ratio (WHtR), body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure (BP) were assessed in all children. C reactive protein (CRP), fasting blood sugar, fasting serum levels of insulin and fasting lipid profile and
ultrasound (US) abdomen and B- mode US to analyze hepatic steatosis and carotid intima media thickness (cIMT) respectively were done. The degree of insulin resistance was determined by the homeostatic model assessmentinsulin resistance (HOMA-IR).

Results: MA was detected in 42 (20.28%) of the obese/overweight children. No association was observed between MA and cardiometabolic risk factors in the current study. Proportion of children with increased right cIMT was significantly higher in the MA group.

Keywords: Obesity, Overweight, Children; microalbuminuria, carotid intima medial thickness, cardiometabolic risk factors