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ABSTRACT
Aims:To evaluate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in elderly assisted in tertiary health care and the association between metabolic syndrome and health, functional capacity, life style, and demographic and socioeconomic factors. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving elderly assisted in an outpatient medical clinic of a university hospital in Curitiba, capital of Paraná State, Brazil. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATPIII). The variables evaluated were: metabolic syndrome and its components; demographic and socioeconomic factors (age, sex, education, family income); lifestyle (smoking, alcohol use, adherence to diet, physical activity); health profile (non-communicable diseases, continued use of medicines); and functional capacity, determined by Katz and Lawton scales.
Results:The study included 133 elderly, with a mean age of 68.7±5.8 years (60-85 years), most of them women (66.9%). The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 63.9%, being 71.8% in women and 28.2% in men (p=0.16). Metabolic syndrome was more frequent in individuals aged 60-69 years compared with those above that age (64.7% versus 35.3%; p=0.03). There was also association of metabolic syndrome with reporting five or more chronic diseases (60.0% versus 29.2%, p<0.001) and with using seven or more continuous medicines (36.5% versus 1.6%, p<0.001). Abdominal obesity was more frequent among women (98.4% versus 66.7%; p=0.001) and hyperglycemia was more frequent among men (95.8% versus 75.4%; p=0.03). Only 7.1% of the elderly with metabolic syndrome were considered dependent. Conclusions: Prevalence of metabolic syndrome was high in this sample of elderly assisted in tertiary health care setting. The distribution of two of the five components of metabolic syndrome was different between sexes (central obesity more frequent in women and hyperglycemia more frequent in men). Elderly people with metabolic syndrome were more often less than 70 years old, reported more chronic diseases and used more continuous medicines. There was no association of metabolic syndrome with sex, socioeconomic factors, lifestyle or functional capacity.