Ability of Nontraditional Risk Factors and Inflammatory Biomarkers for Cardiovascular Disease to Identify High Cardiometabolic Risk in Adolescents: Results From the LabMed Physical Activity Study.

PURPOSE: Then objective of this study was to evaluate the ability of several nontraditional cardiometabolic and inflammatory biomarkers in identifying high cardiometabolic risk in adolescents.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 529 Portuguese adolescents (267 girls) aged 14.3 ± 1.7 years. A clustered cardiometabolic risk score (body fat percentage, systolic blood pressure, ratio of total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance, and negative values of cardiorespiratory fitness) was computed. The nontraditional cardiometabolic biomarkers assessed were complement factors (C3 and C4), C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen, leptin, white blood cells (WBCs), albumin, interleukin-6, and a clustered score of inflammatory biomarkers (InflaScore) (C3, C4, CRP, fibrinogen, and leptin).

RESULTS: Receiver operating characteristic curves analyses showed that C3, C4, CRP, fibrinogen, leptin, and the InflaScore were able to present discriminatory ability in identifying an unfavorable cardiometabolic profile in both girls and boys (p <.01 for all). Logistic regression analyses showed that C3, C4, CRP, fibrinogen, leptin, the InflaScore (in both sexes), and WBC (boys) were associated with high cardiometabolic risk, independent of age, pubertal stage, socioeconomic status, or adherence to a Mediterranean diet (p <.05 for all).

CONCLUSIONS: C3, C4, CRP, fibrinogen, and leptin were associated with high cardiometabolic risk in both sexes and WBC in boys. In addition, the clustered inflammatory biomarkers seem to have a better diagnostic accuracy in identifying an unfavorable cardiometabolic profile than single biomarkers. Such biomarkers may have utility in motivating health professionals, public health workers, and adolescents' families toward lifestyle changes, improving prevention efforts early in life.