| This study examined the association between the presence of AN at the neck and BMI, blood glucose, lipoproteins and blood pressure in 408 children and adolescents between the ages of 10 and 18 years of age of Hawaiian ethnicity. Covariates included age, gender, height, waist circumference, and family history of diabetes. This study design was observational and cross sectional. 17.2% of all study participants had AN, 13.8% of boys and 20.0% of girls.;Multivariate analysis revealed a significant predictive relationship between BMI and AN (OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.01-1.43, p = .034). Multivariate analysis revealed a significant negative relationship between AN and HDL (B = -6.262, p = .004, R² = .18), but failed to reveal significant relationships between AN and any of the other outcome variables when controlled for obesity.;The association between AN and diastolic blood pressure tends towards significance (B = 2.321, p = .082, R2 = .18) in multivariate analysis. Among the other variables assessed in the study, waist circumference was not only related to higher AN independent of obesity, but was also a significant predictor of total cholesterol, LDL, and triglycerides independent of AN and obesity. Age and BMI predicted children’s blood pressure.;The study underscores the importance of AN in predicting HDL and that of waist circumference which seems to be a risk factor for dyslipidemia over and above BMI. Future larger studies with other Hawaiian children and adolescents should be performed to further evaluate these relationships. |
