Cardiometabolic Health After Pediatric Cancer Treatment: Adolescents Are More Affected than Children

Nutr Cancer. 2022;74(9):3236-3252. doi: 10.1080/01635581.2022.2072908. Epub 2022 May 9.

Abstract

This cross-sectional study aimed at comparing the cardiometabolic (CM) health of children and adolescents and identifying factors associated with CM complications shortly after cancer treatment. Cancer-related characteristics, blood pressure (BP), anthropometry, and biochemical parameters were collected in 80 patients (56.3% female, mean age: 11.8 years; range: 4.5 - 21.0) a mean of 1.4 years following therapy completion. Compared to children, adolescents had higher mean z-score of insulin (-0.47 vs. 0.20; P = 0.01), HOMA-IR (-0.40 vs. 0.25; P = 0.02), waist-to-height ratio (0.36 vs. 0.84; P = 0.01), subscapular skinfold thickness (-0.19 vs. 0.47; P = 0.02), total body fat (-1.43 vs. 0.26; P < 0.01), and lower mean z-score of HDL-C (0.07 vs. -0.53; P < 0.01). Adolescents were more likely to have high BP (42% vs. 15%; P < 0.01), dyslipidemia (64% vs. 15%; P < 0.001), and cumulating ≥ 2 CM complications (42% vs. 2%; P < 0.001) than children. Adiposity indices (z-scores) were associated with high BP [odds ratio (OR) ranging from 2.11 to 4.09] and dyslipidemia (OR ranging from 2.06 to 4.34). These results suggest that adolescents have a worse CM profile than children shortly after therapy and that adiposity parameters are associated with CM complications, highliting the importance to develop intervention strategies targeting this population.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adiposity
  • Adolescent
  • Body Mass Index
  • Cardiovascular Diseases* / epidemiology
  • Cardiovascular Diseases* / etiology
  • Child
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Dyslipidemias* / complications
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Hypertension* / complications
  • Male
  • Neoplasms* / complications
  • Neoplasms* / therapy
  • Obesity / complications
  • Risk Factors