Study: Syndrome May Harm Teen Brain

Metabolic syndrome may undermine the brains of teens as well as their bodies, a small study suggests. Metabolic syndrome means having at least 3 of 5 unhealthy conditions. The conditions are high blood pressure, large waist, high triglycerides (a blood fat), low HDL (“good cholesterol”) and insulin resistance. Metabolic syndrome increases the risk of diabetes and heart disease. The new study included 111 teenagers. Of this group, 49 had metabolic syndrome and 62 did not. Both groups were a similar mix of ages, family income, school grade, gender and ethnicity. Everyone took tests of ability in subjects such as spelling and math. They also took tests of brain function, such as memory and attention. Teens with metabolic syndrome had about 10% lower scores on the subject tests. They also scored lower on attention, but not memory. Each teen also had an MRI brain scan.