This study looked at the prevalence of hypertension, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance and other cardiometabolic risk factors in adults with cerebral palsy, as well as the ability to predict these risk factors using body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and other anthropometric measures. The main outcome measures for this study included:
- total cholesterol,
- HDL-cholesterol,
- LDL-cholesterol,
- triglycerides,
- glucose,
- insulin, and
- C-reactive protein
The researchers also measured blood pressure, BMI, waist circumference, waist-hip ratio, and waist-height ratio. The study found that BMI was only associated with HOMA-IR, a measure of insulin resistance and beta-cell function. Waist circumference, however, was associated with HOMA-IR, as well as triglycerides and systolic blood pressure. The study found that the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in ambulatory and non-ambulatory adults was 20.5% and 28.6%, respectively. Waist circumference provides a meaningful clinical measurement for screening for cardiometabolic risk factors in adults with cerebral palsy that can be used instead of or in addition to BMI.
Reference
Ryan, J. M., Crowley, V. E., Hensey, O., McGahey, A., & Gormley, J. (2014). Waist circumference provides an indication of numerous cardiometabolic risk factors in adults with cerebral palsy. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Apr 14. pii: S0003-9993(14)00280-9. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2014.03.029. [Epub ahead of print]