Background: The lipid accumulation product (LAP) is a powerful marker for predicting metabolic syndrome (MS) in adults. The present study aimed to propose a novel indicator, the children’s lipid accumulation product (CLAP), and to assess its association with MS among Chinese children and adolescents.
Methods: A total of 683 Chinese children aged 8–15 years were recruited using a stratified cluster sampling method in this cross-sectional study. The presence of MS was defined according to the NCEP-ATP III criteria. The effects of BMI, WHtR and the CLAP for predicting MS were compared using logistic regression models and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.
Results: The prevalence of MS was 5.1% (6.6% and 3.5% among boys and girls, respectively). Overall obesity (based on BMI), abdominal obesity (based on WHtR) and CLAP≥P75 were significantly associated with an increased risk of MS (ORs (95% CIs) were 143.79 (18.78–1101.22), 86.83 (27.19–277.27), 150.75 (20.11–1130.19), respectively). The area under the ROC curve (AUC) for the CLAP was higher than that for BMI and WHtR for predicting MS, with AUC (95% CI) values of 0.944 (0.913–0.975), 0.895 (0.864–0.927), and 0.928 (0.903–0.953), respectively.
Conclusion: The children’s lipid accumulation product (CLAP) was an effective indicator associated with MS in Chinese children and adolescents and was better than BMI and WHtR for predicting MS.
Keywords: childhood obesity, lipid metabolism, metabolic syndrome