Sonographic evaluation of visceral, subcutaneous fat and hepatic echogenicity in overweight or obese children and adolescents / Alshimaa Ghoniem Shaban Elgarhy ; Supervised Alshimaa Ghoniem Shaban Elgarhy , Maha Shiba Elhamad , Hend Mehawed Abdellatif Soliman

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Medicine - Department of Pediatrics

Background and objective: Childhood obesity is a global epidemic, constituting a risk factor for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidemia. We aimed to assess the use of ultrasound in measurement of subcutaneous, visceral fats and hepatic echogenicity in obese and overweight children. Methods: A cross sectional study included forty-two obese, ten overweight with BMI >85 the percentile recruited from diabetic endocrine and metabolic pediatric unit (DEMPU), Faculty of medicine, Cairo university. Forty-one control children were recruited from the general outpatient clinics and their weight percentiles were with in normal level (not overweight or obese).Their ages were from 3 to 16 years. All those were subjected to clinical evaluation, anthropometric measurements, measurement of Fat indices and hepatic echogenicity by ultrasound. The following laboratory tests were performed for all cases; complete blood count Serum blood glucose level, fasting lipid profile, Liver function tests. Results: Fat indices measured by ultrasound was strongly correlated with blood pressure, body mass index, waist circumference, hip circumference, triceps skin fold and increased liver echogenicity. The cutoff point of SC fat measured by ultrasound that was associated with these risk factors was 11.6 mm. Conclusion: Ultrasound can be used in assessment of obesity in children and prediction of complications as hypertension, acanthoses nigricans, hyperlipidemia, fatty liver and hepatomegaly

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