Visual Abstract
Background: Sex differences in T2DM risk factors during childhood are poorly understood.
Objective: To determine the association of T2DM risk factors and sex in elementary schoolchildren. Methods: Anthropometric measures and lipid, glucose, and insulin levels were performed in 2482 (1230M) elementary Argentinean schoolchildren aged 9.0±2.1 years.
Results: The prevalence of overweight was 18.9% (469) and obesity 20.6% (510). Girls had significantly higher triglycerides and triglycerides/HDL-C than boys, but lower glucose levels. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that triglycerides (beta=0,1; R2 0.12), insulin (beta=0,13; R2 0.19), and triglycerides/HDL-C ( beta=0,10; R2 0.13) were directly and significantly associated with girls, whereas glucose (beta=-0,13; R2 0.10) was inversely and significantly associated with girls, adjusted for BMI and age. When the sample was split into two groups by age (under/over ten), triglycerides and triglycerides/HDL-C lost significance in girls older than ten, whereas glucose remained significant in both groups.
Conclusions: Compared with boys, girls had higher triglycerides and triglycerides/HDL-C but lower glucose, adjusted for adiposity and age. However, lipids lost significance in girls over ten, suggesting that age, sex, and pubertal development may play a role in sex-related glucose and lipid level differences in children.
V. Hirschler: None. C. D. Gonzalez: None. C. Molinari: None. S. Lapertosa: None. Dioses group: n/a.