Prevalence of metabolic syndrome in Murcia Region, a southern European Mediterranean area with low cardiovascular risk and high obesity

Abstract

BackgroundMetabolic syndrome (MS) is associated with subsequent appearance of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. As compared to other Spanish regions, Murcia (southern Spain) registers increased obesity as well as cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of MS and its components, awareness of obesity as a health risk and associated lifestyles.MethodsA population-based, cross-sectional study was conducted in 2003, covering a sample of 1555 individuals 20 years and over. MS was defined according to the Revised National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (R-ATPIII), International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and Joint Interim Statement (JIS) criteria. Both low (94/80) and high (102/88) waist circumference (WC) thresholds were considered.ResultsPrevalence of MS was 27.2% (95%CI: 25.2-29.2), 32.2% (95%CI: 30.1-34.3) and 33.2% (95%CI: 31.2-35.3) according to the R-ATPIII, IDF and JIS94/80 respectively. It increased with age until reaching 52.6% (R-ATPIII) or 60.3% (JIS94/80) among persons aged 70 years and over, and was higher in persons with little or no formal education (51.7% R-ATPIII, 57.3% JIS94/80). The most common risk factors were hypertension (46.6%) and central obesity (40.7% and 66.1% according to high and low WC cut-off points respectively). Although most persons were aware that obesity increased health risks, regular exercise was very unusual (13.0% centrally obese, 27.2% non-centrally obese). Adherence to dietary recommendations was similar among centrally obese and non-centrally obese subjects.ConclusionsPrevalence of MS is high in our population, is comparable to that found in northern Europe and varies with the definition used. Adherence to preventive recommendations and to adequate weight promotion is very low. In the absence of a specific treatment for MS, integrated intervention based on a sustained increase in physical activity and changes in diet should be reinforced.

Ethnic disparities in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its risk factors in the Suriname Health Study: a cross-sectional population study

“…High levels of central obesity are most common. In European studies, increased WC and hypertension are the main components, whereas29 30 in Asian studies, increased WC and increased fasting blood glucose prevail 28. In the present study, increased WC and low HDL-C values were most common.…”

“…The estimates based on the JIS and IDF definitions are comparable and exceed those determined with other definitions 228 The prevalence for Europe,3 29 30 North, and South East Asia31 of JIS defined Mets varied between 27% and 33%. The JIS defined prevalence of the MetS in Suriname was higher than that in European countries, but comparable to prevalences in South Asia 2…”

Analysis of the haplotype and linkage disequilibrium of PPARγ gene polymorphisms rs3856806, rs12490265, rs1797912, and rs1175543 among patients with metabolic syndrome in Kazakh of Xinjiang Province

“…The prevalence of MS has increased worldwide, affecting health expenditure and becoming an increasingly important public health problem. The onset of MS shows regional, ethnic, and gender differences (Grundy et al, 2005;Gu et al, 2005;Bouguerra et al, 2006;Gavrila et al, 2011). The Kazakh people of Xinjiang Province are an ethnic group with a high risk of MS, showing a prevalence rate of 21.96% (Jiang and Xie, 2012); this value is higher than that of the Han population inhabiting the same region (Jiang and Xie, 2012).…”

Screening premorbid metabolic syndrome in community pharmacies: a cross-sectional descriptive study

“…and almost all were higher than in our study [6,8,9,20,21]. The exclusion of patients with T2DM or previous CVD significantly decreases the prevalence of MetS and, at the same time, allows enhancement of primary prevention of cardiometabolic diseases [7,22,23].…”