Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome among the Patients Attending for Master Health Check-up in Family Medicine Department

Abstract

Introduction: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of conditions that occur together, increasing risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. The prevalence of MetS is increasing worldwide. The aim of the study is to determine the prevalence of MetS among patients attending for Master Health check-up at Family Medicine outpatient department, to find out common component and see the association of body mass index with MetS.

Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was done at family medicine outpatient department over a period of six months. There were total of 854 participants involved in the study and each subject was interviewed, anthropometric measured, biochemical parameter recorded in the Performa. The MetS was diagnosed according to modified National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEPATP III) criteria.

Results: The MetS was diagnosed in 53.9 %( 95% CI:50.56%-57.24%)of the study population on the basis of modified NCEP-ATP III criteria, with prevalence significantly higher among males (58.3%) than in females (48.6%)(P value <0.01). Abdominal obesity (70.7%) was the most common morbidity followed by increased fasting blood sugar (57.1%), high level of triglyceride (45.4%), high blood pressure (45.0%) and low level of high density lipoproteins (41.0%). Prevalence of metabolic syndrome was significantly (p-value=0.000) high among obesity (82.5%) and overweight (67.6%) individuals than those with normal weight (38.7%) and underweight (7.1%).

Conclusion: The metabolic syndrome was seen in more than half of study population, with significantly higher among males than in females. The most common component in both genders was abdominal obesity. Presence of any one component should alert the primary care physician to look for other components so that definitive diagnosis can be made and timely intervention can be started with dietary measures, regular exercises and medical treatment