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Objective: Our objective was to estimate the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome using the 2007 pediatric International Diabetes Federation (IDF) definition among adolescents in the U.S., Research Design and Methods: We used data from 2,014 participants aged 12-17 years of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2004., Results: The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome for the period 1999-2004 was approximately 4.5% ( approximately 1.1 million adolescents aged 12-17 years in 2006). It increased with age, was higher among males (6.7%) than females (2.1%) (P = 0.006), and was highest among Mexican-American adolescents (7.1%). The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome was relatively stable across the 6-year period: 4.5% for 1999-2000, 4.4-4.5% for 2001-2002, and 3.7-3.9% for 2003-2004 (P for linear trend >0.050)., Conclusions: Our results provide the first estimates of the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome using the pediatric IDF definition among adolescents in the U.S.

Objective: Recent evidence suggests that poor glycemic control is significantly associated with the development of macrovascular complications of diabetes. Studies have indicated that C-reactive protein (CRP) is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The purpose of this study was to determine the relation between CRP and HbA(1c) in a large national sample of individuals with diabetes., Research Design and Methods: A nationally representative sample of noninstitutionalized U.S. adults aged 17 years and over with nongestational diabetes was derived from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III (1988-1994) (n = 1,018). Respondents with diabetes were stratified by HbA(1c) level. The main outcome measure was elevated (>0.30 mg/dl) CRP., Results: In unadjusted analyses, respondents with diabetes who had elevated HbA(1c) levels (> or =9.0%) had a significantly higher percent of elevated CRP than people with low (<7%) HbA(1c) levels (P < 0.001). In adjusted regression analysis, after controlling for age, race, sex, smoking, length of time with diabetes, insulin, and BMI, HbA(1c) was significantly associated with an increased likelihood of elevated CRP for HbA(1c) >9.0% (OR 2.15, 95% CI 1.07-4.32) and for HbA(1c) >11.0% (4.40, 1.87-10.38). Higher HbA(1c) also predicted elevated CRP in the regression model when HbA(1c) was analyzed as a continuous variable (1.20, 1.07-1.34)., Conclusions: In this study, the likelihood of elevated CRP concentrations increased with increasing HbA(1c) levels. These findings suggest an association between glycemic control and systemic inflammation in people with established diabetes.

Objective: Previous studies have shown an association between attendance at religious services and health, particularly cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. People with diabetes have higher risk of cardiovascular mortality and higher C-reactive protein (CRP) levels than people without diabetes. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between religious attendance and CRP in people with diabetes., Research Design and Methods: This study used cross-sectional survey and examination of a nationally representative sample of noninstitutionalized U.S. adults aged > or = 40 years, derived from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III 1988-1994 (n = 10,059). There were 556 people with diabetes. The primary outcome measure was the presence of elevated CRP., Results: There were no differences between people with diabetes compared with people without diabetes in the percentage of those who attended religious services (62.29 vs. 62.0%, P = 0.36). Religious service nonattenders with diabetes were more likely than attenders to have an elevated CRP (odds ratio [OR] 2.17 [95% CI 1.15-4.09]). In people without diabetes, the association between attendance and CRP was not significant (P > 0.05). Among people with diabetes, after adjusting for demographic variables, health status, smoking, social support, mobility, and BMI, the association between religious attendance and CRP remained significant for respondents with diabetes (1.90 [1.03-3.51])., Conclusions: These findings revealed that people with diabetes who have not attended religious services in the previous year are more likely to have elevated levels of CRP. Further research should be conducted to evaluate this association to improve our understanding of the psychological and religious factors that influence diabetes.