OBJECTIVETo investigate the role of non-high density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C) in the assessment of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors such as hypertension, pre-diabetes and diabetes in obese children.

METHODSAccording to the presence of complications (hypertension, pre-diabetes and diabetes), 810 children with central obesity were divided into two groups: one group with complications (n=499) and one group without complications (n=311). One hundred and sixty-four age- and sex-matched children served as the control group. Logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to analyze the detection of non-lipid CVD risk factors by seven lipid markers.

RESULTSThe prevalence rates of hypertension and pre-diabetes were significantly higher in obese children with high non-HDL-C concentrations (≥3.76 mmol/L). After adjusting for waist circumference Z-scores, the area under the ROC curve for non-HDL-C was 0.680 to detect non-lipid CVD risk factors, while the areas for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol and apoprotein B were 0.659, 0.669 and 0.647 respectively.

CONCLUSIONSCompared with the other lipid markers, non-HDL-C is a better predictor for non-lipid CVD risk factors in obese children. Measurement of non-HDL-C concentations is recommended for obese children.