State of the Art in Metabolic Syndrome in Childhood: 2nd Edition

Dear Colleagues,

Childhood obesity has more than doubled in prevalence in the last 30 years, with up to 39 percent of obese children and adolescents manifesting signs and symptoms of metabolic syndrome (MeS), depending on the classification used. This is all the more concerning given that obesity was responsible for around 4 million deaths worldwide in 2015, nearly 70% of which were caused by cardiovascular disease.  There is still currently no standardized definition of MeS in children, although consensus diagnostic criteria are crucial for early risk stratification. Several sets of diagnostic criteria have been proposed in the past, but the recent literature suggests the inclusion of other additional features, as many affected children already have one or more cardiovascular risk factors or metabolic abnormalities, such as dyslipidemia, impaired glucose tolerance, type 2 diabetes, hyperuricemia, arterial hypertension, NAFDL, hyperuricemia, and sleep and psychological disorders (such as depression and attention deficit disorder). Current therapeutic options, including pharmacotherapy and bariatric surgery, are limited at this age. Consequently, lifestyle modification remains the most effective (and only way in most children and adolescents) to prevent or treat childhood obesity and MeS. However, preventive or therapeutic treatments should be initiated before overt manifestations of MeS using consistent and internationally established criteria. The goal of this review is to provide a concise and critical summary of our current understanding of metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents, as well as to address present and future treatment perspectives.

Contributions from different professions are welcome, and all types of papers will be taken into consideration for publication. This Special Issue aims to collect high-quality research papers that address novel issues related to metabolic syndrome. We would like this Special Issue to provide clinicians and researchers with interesting options for improving their clinical practice and that could also be the basis for future research projects.

The incidence of obesity and metabolic syndrome has dramatically increased over the last few decades. In parallel, the number of papers on this topic has increased, and many studies concerning their treatment, genetic predisposition, and even diagnosis and clinical findings are ongoing. Despite the growing body of research, the only effective treatment is weight loss. Some drugs have been proposed for this purpose, but they have not yet significantly changed the prognosis for these patients.

Meta-analyses, original review papers, position statements, and interesting case reports that could be relevant for readers will be welcomed. We encourage contacting the Guest Editors regarding the submission of different kinds of papers.

Dr. Giulio Frontino
Dr. Maurizio Delvecchio
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Children is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.