Korean J Fam Pract. 2017; 7(3): 372-376  https://doi.org/10.21215/kjfp.2017.7.3.372
The Relationships between Metabolic Syndrome with White Blood Cell Count, Ferritin, and Liver Function Test in Korean Children and Adolescents: The Fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2010–2012
Sun-Jin Hong, Min-Jeong Kim*, Seok-Joong Kim, Song-Hui Kwon, Je-Han Lee, Eun-Sung Sim
Department of Family Medicine, National Medical Center, Seoul, Korea
Min-Jeong Kim
Tel: +82-2-2260-4717, Fax: +82-2-2262-4739
E-mail: seiten@hanmail.net
Received: March 17, 2016; Revised: September 27, 2016; Accepted: October 2, 2016; Published online: June 20, 2017.
© The Korean Academy of Family Medicine. All rights reserved.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and white blood cell (WBC) count, serum ferritin levels, and liver function test results in children and adolescents.
Methods: The data of 2,535 individuals (1,339 men and 1,196 women) aged 10–19 years from the fifth Korea National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (KNHANES, 2010–2012) were used. We analyzed the relationship between MetS and obesity, physical activity, WBC count, ferritin level, serum gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT) level, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level, and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) level, using modified National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel (NCEP-ATP) III criteria. We used complex sampling; descriptive, multiple, and logistic regression analyses; and analysis of covariance for analyzing the data.
Results: The prevalence of MetS was 4.16% among men and 2.82% among women, based on the modified NCEP-ATP III criteria. When the model included WBC count and ferritin, AST, ALT, and GGT levels as independent variables, MetS was positively associated with GGT and ALT levels in men and with WBC count and GGT, AST, and ALT levels in women. In the multiple logistic regression analyses, MetS increased the odds ratio of AST and ferritin levels in men and AST level in women.
Conclusion: This study suggests that higher AST and ferritin levels in men and higher AST level in women are indicators of MetS.
Keywords: Child; Adolescents; Metabolic Syndrome; Liver Function Tests; Leukocytes; Ferritin
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