Hypertriglyceridemia is associated with impaired fasting glucose in normal-weight children.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have suggested that elevated triglyceride levels may precede the appearance of glucose metabolic disturbances in adults; nonetheless, this hypothesis has not been tested in children. Hence, we evaluated whether hypertriglyceridemia is associated with impaired fasting glucose (IFG) in normal-weight children.

METHODS: Normal-weight healthy children aged 7-15 years were enrolled in a population-based cross-sectional population study and allocated into groups with and without hypertriglyceridemia. Hypertriglyceridemia was defined by serum triglyceride levels ≥100 and ≥130 mg/dL for children aged 7-9 and 10-15 years, respectively, and IFG by fasting plasma glucose levels ≥100 and <126 mg/dL.

RESULTS: A total of 1453 children with average age of 11.3 ± 2.4 years were enrolled in the study and allocated into the groups with (n = 172) and without (n = 1281) hypertriglyceridemia. In the overall population, the prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia and IFG was 11.8% and 11.2%, respectively. The logistic regression analysis adjusted by age, gender, BMI, waist circumference, and insulin levels showed that hypertriglyceridemia is associated with IFG in children aged 10-15 years (odds ratio (OR) = 1.67; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02-2.77, p = 0.04) but not in those aged 7-9 years (OR = 1.48; 95% CI: 0.39-5.58, p = 0.55).

CONCLUSION: Hypertriglyceridemia is associated with IFG in normal-weight children aged 10-15 years, but not in those aged 7-9 years.