PREVALENCE OF METABOLIC SYNDROME IN AN IRANIAN ADULT POPULATION

Abstract<br />INTRODUCTION: The clustering of several cardiovascular disease risk factors such as<br />abdominal obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia and disturbances in glucose metabolism has<br />been termed the Metabolic Syndrome (MS). The MS has been shown to predict<br />cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes. Epidemiological studies have demonstrated<br />that CVD is the main cause of worldwide mortality; they have also linked diabetes to an<br />increased risk of mortality due to CVD.<br />METHODS: According to the ATP III (Adult Treatment Panel) reports, individuals having<br />three or more of the following criteria are defined as having the MS: abdominal obesity<br />(waist circumference &gt; 102 cm in men and &gt;88 cm in woman), hypertriglyceridemia<br />(triglyceride &ge; 150 mg/dl), low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (HDL&lt;40 mg/dl in<br />men and &lt;50 mg/dl in women), high fasting blood sugar (FBS) (FBS&ge;110 mg/dl) and high<br />blood pressure (BP) (BP&ge;130/85 mmHg). The SPSS package (SPSS Chicago IL) was used<br />and the significance level was set at P&lt;0.05.<br />RESULTS: Overall, the age-adjusted prevalence of the MS was 25.4% and 21.7% in the<br />urban and rural areas of Isfahan, respectively. It was the highest among 50-59-year-old rural<br />Isfahani women (68.9%) and the lowest among rural Araki men (5.6%).<br />DISCUSSION: We found approximately 21.9% of Iranian adults living in Central Iran to<br />have the MS. In summary, this study showed an increasing risk of the MS among middleaged<br />woman in urban areas owing to their physical quality of life. The results indicate that<br />primary prevention should not only consider biological risk factors, but also take account of<br />sociodemographic variables to identify individuals at high risk for diabetes and<br />cardiovascular disease.<br /><br /><br />Keywords &bull; Metabolic syndrome &bull; ATPIII &bull; Prevalence &bull; Ira