Metabolic Syndrome in a Rural Nigerian Community: Is Central Obesity always the key Determinant?

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MS) is primarily the consequence of excess central adiposity but can also result from low grade systemic inflammation inducing insulin resistance. There is a global increase in the prevalence of MS; it is on this background that evaluation of the prevalence of MS in a poor rural farming community with a low expected low prevalence of obesity is relevant. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of metabolic syndrome using the National Cholesterol Education Project: Adult Treatment Panel III definition (MS-ATP) in a rural Nigerian community.Methods: 300 adult consenting participants were bled after an overnight fast, and venous blood obtained for lipid studies and fasting blood glucose estimation. Measurements were made to determine height, weight, waist circumference and blood pressure. The prevalence of each diagnostic component was determined and the relative risk (RR) of each component for MS-ATP was calculated.Results: The prevalence of MS-ATP was 6.30%, central obesity 5.33% (RR=3.3[95% CI:1.08-10.26]), and hypertriglyceridaemia 11.33% (RR=21.91[95% CI:8.42- 57.32]). The prevalence of low HDL-cholesterol was highest (85.67%) but the RR was not calculable.Conclusion: Unlike previous reports the prevalence of central obesity was very low in this study and contributed little to the development of MS-ATP. Hypertriglyceridaemia appears to be associated with the greatest risk of developing metabolic syndrome in this community while Low HDLcholesterol although most prevalent is a poor diagnostic requirement for metabolic syndrome.Key Words: Metabolic syndrome; rural community; Nigeri