Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome Among Adults in a Rural Area

Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. Limited information is available about the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in rural areas of Iran.

A total 1402 adults (1042 females and 360 males), aged between 18-90 yrs, participated in a community-based cross-sectional study. Prevalence of metabolic syndrome was determined by the definition of the National Cholestrol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATPIII), and results were compared with those based on the revised ATPIII and International Diabetes Federation (IDF) definitions.

Overall prevalence of ATP III defined metabolic syndrome was 25.6% compared to 29% and 33% using the revised ATP III, IDF definition respectively. The results of multiple logistic regression model showed after adjusting for age, sex, Body Mass Index (BMI), marital status, and education level, there was no difference between men and women for metabolic syndrome (P=0.2) by ATP III and revised ATP III definitions while prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 1.97 times greater in women versus men (95% CI: 1.4 – 2.7, p< 0.001) by the IDF-definition. Sex-adjusted prevalence of metabolic syndrome (by three definitions) increased 1.05%, for each one year increase in age [95% CI: (1.04-1.06)]. In the current study, low serum High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (HDL-C) was the most common component of metabolic syndrome, while high fasting plasma glucose was the least common.

These results show that the metabolic syndrome is prevalent in rural areas and interventional strategies should be considered for weight reduction and treating components of metabolic syndrome in this population.