Abstract
BACKGROUND: Previous studies found that remnant cholesterol (RC) is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and childhood obesity is associated with cardiometabolic diseases. This study aimed to explore the relationship between RC and abdominal obesity in children. METHODS: A total of 5,959 children, aged 6-12 years old, were selected from a cross-sectional study in urban-rural areas of Chongqing, China. RC was calculated by total cholesterol (TC)-high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C) cholesterol-low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C) cholesterol and was divided into four groups by quartiles (Q1-Q4). RESULTS: Compared to children with the lowest RC (Q1), children with higher RC had significantly higher odds of abdominal obesity (Q2: OR = 1.450, 95% CI: 1.131-1.859, p < 0.05; Q3: OR = 2.127, 95% CI: 1.632-2.772, p < 0.001; Q4: OR = 2.386, 95% CI: 1.819-3.130, p < 0.001). In the stratified analyses by urban-rural areas, the odds ratios were greater in rural areas (Q2: OR = 2.228, 95% CI: 1.572-3.160, p < 0.001; Q3: OR = 3.668, 95% CI: 2.191-6.140, p < 0.001; Q4: OR = 6.490, 95% CI: 2.271-18.551, p < 0.001) than in urban areas (Q2: OR = 1.644, 95% CI: 1.192-2.266, p < 0.05; Q3: OR = 2.266, 95% CI: 1.667-3.082, p < 0.001; Q4: OR = 2.711, 95% CI: 2.005-3.665, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our study found that RC was positively correlated with abdominal obesity in children, and this association was higher for children living in rural areas.