Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Associations between Body Mass Index and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Adolescents in a Country of the African Region
Table 1
Characteristics of the participants at the age of 12–15 years and at the age of 19-20 years.
Males ()
Females ()
P value
Age 12–15 years
Mean age
13.88 (0.62)
13.89 (0.53)
Age range
12.01–15.98
12.01–14.57
BMI (kg/m2)
19.35 (3.31)
20.29 (3.95)
0.013
Categories of BMI
Overweight
33 (18.86)
42 (19.53)
Elevated weight
43 (24.57)
77 (35.81)
Low weight
99 (56.57)
96 (44.65)
0.035
Age 19 years
Mean age
19.51 (0.33)
19.51 (0.29)
Age range
18.8–20.4
18.8–20.5
BMI (kg/m2)
21.57 (3.47)
22.71 (5.45)
0.017
Categories of BMI
Overweight
22 (12.57)
60 (27.91)
Elevated weight
62 (35.43)
51 (23.72)
Low weight
91 (52.00)
104 (48.37)
<0.001
Cardiovascular risk factors
SBP (mmHg)
121.23 (10.74)
110.49 (9.75)
<0.001
DBP (mmHg)
67.36 (7.80)
69.06 (7.90)
0.034
LDL-cholesterol (mmol/L)
2.44 (0.77)
2.74 (0.84)
<0.001
HDL-cholesterol (mmol/L)
1.43 (0.41)
1.35 (0.39)
0.038
Triglycerides (mmol/L)
0.69 (0.28)
0.69 (0.35)
0.963
Glucose (mmol/L)
5.22 (0.58)
4.96 (0.54)
<0.001
Uric acid (mmol/L)
0.35 (0.08)
0.24 (0.07)
<0.001
BMI: body mass index; SBP: systolic blood pressure; DBP: diastolic blood pressure; LDL-cholesterol: low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; HDL-cholesterol: high-density lipoprotein. Results are presented as mean (standard deviation) or as number (percentage).
