Effect of early protein-calorie malnutrition on nutritional status and attributes of the metabolic syndrome in young adults

Abstract

Background: during recent years consistent studies have characterized the relationship between moderate and severe protein-calorie malnutrition and the appearance of non-communicable diseases in adulthood like metabolic syndrome (MS). Aim: to analyze the relationship between moderate and severe protein-calorie malnutrition during the first 1 000 days of life and the MS in a cohort of adults from Curicó, Chile. Material and methods: we studied 49 young adults who had suffered moderate to severe protein-calorie malnutrition during their first two years of life. Anthropometry, blood pressure measurement and laboratory tests were performed, and the burden of MS attributes was determined. Results: the prevalence of MS was 14.3% with no significant differences by gender, showing a direct and significant association between burden of MS and body mass index, waist / height index, blood pressure, plasma levels of glucose and triglyceride, and an inverse association with HDL. Conclusion: systolic blood pressure and plasma level of triglyceride represented the most important risk factors for SM in this cohort. We found no association between the presence of protein-calorie malnutrition and MS.