Relationship between the short stature and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance markers in workers of a private educational institution in Peru

Abstract Background and aims Short stature has been linked with the development of metabolic syndrome (MetS). However, only one study has been conducted in Latin American adults. We aimed to assess the association between short stature and MetS in workers of a private educational institution in Peru. In addition, we evaluated the association between height and surrogate markers of insulin resistance (IR). Methods We performed an analytical cross-sectional study. We categorized the height in tertiles and evaluated MetS according to the Latin American Diabetes Association statement. We used the triglycerides and glucose (TyG) index and the triglycerides to HDL-cholesterol (TG/HDL-c) ratio as IR markers. We elaborated crude and adjusted Poisson generalized linear models to evaluate the association between height tertiles and MetS. For the IR markers, we carried out crude and adjusted linear regressions. Results We analyzed 1080 participants and the overall prevalence of MetS was 16.2%. In the adjusted Poisson generalized linear model, using the high tertile as a reference, we found statistically significant differences in the prevalence of MetS with the low and intermediate tertile (aPR = 2.03; 95%CI: 1.48–2.77 and aPR = 1.41; 95%CI: 1.01–1.99; respectively). In the gender-stratified analysis, we found statistical significance between height and MetS when comparing high and low tertile for both genders. For IR markers, we found an inverse association between the height and TyG index (aβ = −0.14; 95%CI: 0.19 to −0.10) and TG/HDL-c ratio (aβ = −0.62; 95%CI: 0.84 to −0.39). When we stratified by gender, the association for both secondary outcomes and height remained statistically significant in both groups. Conclusions We found an association between short stature and the prevalence of MetS and IR markers. We need studies with national representative samples to define the threshold of short stature with better sensitivity and specificity for the screening of MetS.