Prevalence Rates of Complications Associated with Obesity in Schoolchildren -Results of A 15-Year Survey in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo-

Abstract

We investigated annual prevalence rate of complications found in 6,658 obese schoolchildren during checkups performed in Setagaya Ward between 1984 and 1998. The overall mean prevalence rate of blood lipid abnormalities, hepatic function abnormalities, fasting blood glucose abnormalities and blood pressure abnormalities was 34.2%, 12.9%, 1.6% and 2.8%, respectively, in boys. No gender difference was found except in hepatic function abnormalities, which were less than half as prevalent in girls as in boys. Recently (from 1995 to 1998), the prevalence rates of cholesterol abnormalities, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC) abnormalities as well as an abnormal arteriosclerotic index (AI) have decreased significantly (from 35.6 to 9.0%, 56.7 to 23% and 28.9 to 15.2% in boys, respectively; and 26.1 to 8.1%, 37.8 to 23% and 25.2 to 12.2% in girls, respectively). The mean levels of cholesterol, LDLC, triglycerides and AI showed no significant difference, but tended to decrease. In conclusion, 1) Gender differences were observed only with regard to hepatic function abnormalities. 2) The prevalence of fasting blood glucose abnormalities was low, and oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) seems to be necessary for screening. 3) Arteriosclerotic risk factors have recently tended to improve in spite of the increased prevalence of obesity in children.