Inflammation and Changes in Metabolic Syndrome Abnormalities in US Adolescents: Findings from the 1988–1994 and 1999–2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys

(CRP) in adult metabolic syndrome is increasing; how-ever, this relationship in children is less clear. Methods: We compared the prevalence of metabolic abnormalities and metabolic syndrome in fasting 12- to 19-year-olds from the 1999–2000 and 1988–1994 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). In the more recent dataset we explored the relationship between metabolic abnormalities and CRP as measured by a high-sensitivity assay. Results: The prevalence of central obesity, low HDL-cholesterol, and hypertension increased between the 2 surveys. Three or more abnormalities (metabolic syn-drome) were found in 12.7 % [95 % confidence interval (CI), 10.0%–15.4%] of fasting adolescents from the 1999– 2000 survey, compared with 9.2 % (95 % CI, 7.8%–10.6%