High Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome among Outpatients in a Tertiary Care Centre, Tamil Nadu, India.

ABSTRACT

Background: Metabolic Syndrome (MetS), aconstellation of specific cardiometabolic risk factorsincreases the risk of diabetes and cardiovasculardiseases. These risk factors can be largely reversedthrough lifestyle changes. To develop individualizedlifestyle therapeutic interventions among patientsattending non-communicable disease specialtydepartments, there is a need for identification of peoplewith high risk of developing MetS. Aim and Objectives:To determine the prevalence of MetS, it's associateddemographic and clinical characteristics amongpatients attending specialty Outpatient Department(OPD) in a tertiary care centre. Material and Methods:In this hospital-based cross-sectional study, randomlyselected adults (aged 20 years or more) attending thediabetology or cardiology OPD were included. Usingpretested interview tool, demographic details, height,weight and waist circumference were measured as perstandard guidelines. Blood pressure, fasting bloodsugar and fasting lipid profile were assessed. MetS wasclassified based on the modified Adult Treatment Panel(ATP-III) and International Diabetes Federation (IDF)criteria. Results: A total of 668 patients were includedand the mean age was 50.1 ± 9.7 years. Of the total,72.6% and 64.5% of patients had MetS. Patients aged60 years or more had 1.8 times [Adjusted PR 95% CI1.05-3.16] higher prevalence of MetS compared to 20-30 years. Patients who were doing at least 30 minutes ofregular moderate physical activity had 17% lessoccurrence of MetS [Adj PR 0.71-0.96] compared tothose who did less than 15 minutes of physical activity.Gender, literacy, type of diet and amount of visible fatintake were not significantly associated with MetS.Conclusion: MetS is highly prevalent among patientsattending diabetology and cardiology OPD. Acrossseveral subgroups, around two-thirds had MetS and lowhigh-density lipoprotein was the major contributingfactor for MetS.