ABSTRACT
Objective: To determine frequency of metabolic syndrome and its components amongst soldiers of Armed Forces
Study Design: Descriptive cross sectional
Place and Duration of Study: Medical department, Okara CMH, October 2012to March 2013
Patients and Methods: Our study included 2187 male soldiers. Age ranged from 20 to 52 years. Detailed history and examination of all the participants was done. Body mass index [BMI], waist circumference [WC] and blood pressure [BP] of each subject were recorded. BMI > 25 kg/m[2] and WC > 90 cm was considered obesity and abdominal obesity respectively. BP > 130/85 mmHg defined as hypertension. Blood glucose fasting, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides levels were checked in all participants. SPSS version 16 was used to analyzethe data. p value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant
Results: In our study, 783 participants [35.8%] were found to have abdominal obesity.Overall 491 [22.5%] soldiers had metabolic syndrome out of which 438 [89%] were physically inactive. Frequency of metabolic syndrome was 31.7% [156 out of 491] in age group 20 to 36 years while 68.3%[335 out of 491] in 37 to 52 years of age. Hypertriglyceredemia was present in 504 [23%], low HDL cholesterol in 496[22.6%], hypertension in 210 [9.6%] and abnormal glycemic control in 197 subjects [9%]
Conclusion: A large number of Army soldiers are suffering from metabolic syndrome. Its frequency is increased with increasing age, weight and physical inactivity.Patientswith previous history of diabetes or hypertension were 4 times at risk of developing Metabolic Syndrome as compared to others