The relationship of eating behavior with biochemical blood parameters in children and adolescents born preterm

BACKGROUND: Prematurity is a risk for the formation of adverse metabolic disorders, the components of which can progress and lead to obesity. However, at the moment, the presence and nature of interrelations of metabolic parameters with the type of nutrition have not been established, there is also no clear idea of the age and structure of the initial manifestations of metabolic shifts, the prevalence of eating disorders in children born prematurely. AIMS: To determine the frequency and structure of the initial manifestations of the metabolic syndrome (abdominal obesity, impaired glucose tolerance, dyslipidemia, hypertension); to establish associations of types of eating behavior with biochemical parameters characterizing the adverse metabolic phenotype in children and adolescents born prematurely. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study involved 123 children: in the main group (group 1) there were children and adolescents aged 10-17 years 11 months who were born prematurely (less than 37 weeks at birth and less than 2500 grams at birth), in the control group (group 2) included full-term children (more than 37 weeks and more than 2500 grams at birth). The study included clinical anthropometry with measurement of body weight, height, waist circumference (WC) and hips (HC), followed by calculation of body mass index (BMI) and ratio of WC/HC, measurement of blood pressure (BP). Eating behavior (EB) was assessed using a modified validated Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ). RESULTS: WC equal to or above the 90th percentile were only in children from the main group (4 children (9.7%).There were not observed such parameters in the control group (χ²=4.63, p=0.047). BP higher than the 95th percentile was observed mainly in children born prematurely: 19 children (46.3%) against one (3.3%) of the control group (χ²=21.94, p <0.001). Eating disorders are often found in both groups (59 of 123 (47.9%)): the control group had 35 of 65 (53.8%) children against 24 of 58 (41.4%) of the main group (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The components of metabolic syndrome are registered more often in children born prematurely. Eating disorders are often found in both groups