Metabolic syndrome in adult patients with Prader-Willi syndrome

Background and Aims. Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), the most common genetic cause of obesity, is characterized by elevated morbility and mortality in all ages. In this context, non-obese PWS children showed low frequency of metabolic syndrome (MetS), while that observed in obese PWS children was very close to those of obese controls. Aim of the study was to estimate the occurrence of MetS and its components in a large group of PWS adults, according to obesity status. Methods and Results. A cross-sectional study was performed in 108 PWS aged 18.0-43.2 years (87 obese and 21 non-obese) and in 85 simple obese controls matched for age, gender, and also for BMI with obese PWS. Non-obese PWS showed lower waist circumference, insulin, HOMA index, triglycerides, diastolic blood pressure, and higher HDL-C than both obese PWS and controls (p<0.017). Obese PWS showed higher glucose and systolic blood pressure than both non-obese PWS and controls (p<0.017). The presence of MetS was found in 1/21 (4.8%) non-obese PWS, 36/87 (41.4%) obese PWS and 39/85 (45.9%) controls. Non-obese PWS showed lower frequency for each MetS component as compared with obese PWS and controls. A lower risk for arterial hypertension (p<0.001) and hyperglycemia (p<0.05) was found in GH treated PWS individuals respect to those without any GH treatment. Conclusion. Our findings suggest the main role that obesity status plays on the individual metabolic risk clustering in PWS adults. Early identification of MetS could be helpful to improve morbidity and prevent mortality in such patients.