Early detection of childhood overweight and related complications in a Danish population-based cohort aged 2-8 years

Christine Frithioff-Bøjsøe; Morten Asp Vonsild Lund; Ulrik Lausten-Thomsen; Cilius Esmann Fonvig; Ida Olivia Juhl Lankjær; Tina Hansen; Torben Hansen; Jennifer Lyn Baker; Jens-Christian Holm

doi:10.1016/j.orcp.2022.04.001

Early detection of childhood overweight and related complications in a Danish population-based cohort aged 2-8 years

Obes Res Clin Pract. 2022 May-Jun;16(3):228-234. doi: 10.1016/j.orcp.2022.04.001. Epub 2022 May 3.

Authors

Christine Frithioff-Bøjsøe¹, Morten Asp Vonsild Lund², Ulrik Lausten-Thomsen³, Cilius Esmann Fonvig⁴, Ida Olivia Juhl Lankjær⁵, Tina Hansen⁶, Torben Hansen⁷, Jennifer Lyn Baker⁸, Jens-Christian Holm⁹

Affiliations

¹ The Children's Obesity Clinic, accredited European Centre for Obesity Management, Department of Paediatrics, Copenhagen University Hospital Holbæk, Holbæk, Denmark; The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, Section of Metabolic Genetics, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Electronic address: chboe@regionsjaelland.dk.
² The Children's Obesity Clinic, accredited European Centre for Obesity Management, Department of Paediatrics, Copenhagen University Hospital Holbæk, Holbæk, Denmark; Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
³ Department of Neonatology, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
⁴ The Children's Obesity Clinic, accredited European Centre for Obesity Management, Department of Paediatrics, Copenhagen University Hospital Holbæk, Holbæk, Denmark; The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, Section of Metabolic Genetics, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Paediatrics, Kolding Hospital a Part of Lillebælt Hospital, Kolding, Denmark.
⁵ The Children's Obesity Clinic, accredited European Centre for Obesity Management, Department of Paediatrics, Copenhagen University Hospital Holbæk, Holbæk, Denmark.
⁶ Department of Dental Care, Holbæk Municipality, Holbæk, Denmark.
⁷ The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, Section of Metabolic Genetics, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
⁸ The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, Section of Metabolic Genetics, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Center for Clinical Research and Disease Prevention, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
⁹ The Children's Obesity Clinic, accredited European Centre for Obesity Management, Department of Paediatrics, Copenhagen University Hospital Holbæk, Holbæk, Denmark; The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, Section of Metabolic Genetics, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.

PMID: 35514021
DOI: 10.1016/j.orcp.2022.04.001

Abstract

Background: Overweight in early childhood often tracks into adolescence and adulthood and early childhood is a critical period for developing sustained overweight. This study aims to investigate the early detection of childhood overweight (including obesity) and related cardiometabolic complications in a Danish population-based cohort of children aged 2.5-8 years in collaboration with primary care municipal dental clinics and public health nurses.

Methods: In this prospective population-based cohort study, 335 pre-school children (age 2.5 and 5 years) were recruited from municipal dental clinics, and 657 school children (age 6-8 years) by public health nurses. A subgroup of 392 children (40%) participated in additional hospital-based examinations including blood pressure measurement and a blood sample. Children were re-examined approximately one year later.

Results: The prevalence of overweight was 13.73% in pre-school children and 13.69% in school children at baseline. In the pre-school children, differences in cardiometabolic risk markers between children with and without overweight were minor, whereas in school children with overweight, cardiometabolic derangements were manifest including significantly higher levels of fasting glucose, insulin, homoeostasis model of assessment for insulin resistance, triglycerides, and alanine aminotransferase and lower levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. During follow-up the prevalence of overweight did not change in pre-school children but increased to 17.0% in school children.

Conclusions: Existing contacts with the primary health care sector, including dental care, can successfully be used for detection of overweight. This study suggests that early detection should be initiated at pre-school ages since overweight-related complications are already established by school ages.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00928473.

Keywords: Child; Dental health services; Early detection of disease; Overweight; Public health nurses.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Body Mass Index
Cardiovascular Diseases* / etiology
Child
Child, Preschool
Cohort Studies
Denmark / epidemiology
Humans
Overweight / complications
Overweight / epidemiology
Pediatric Obesity* / complications
Pediatric Obesity* / diagnosis
Pediatric Obesity* / epidemiology
Prospective Studies
Risk Factors

Associated data

ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT00928473