High prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in hypertensive rural Chinese women.

BACKGROUND

The metabolic syndrome has become a major public health issue worldwide.This study was designed to evaluate and compare the epidemiological features of the metabolic syndrome in hypertensive rural Chinese women.

METHODS AND RESULTS

A cross-sectional survey was conducted during 2004-2006, which undertook cluster multistage sampling to a representation sample of hypertensive women living in 50 rural villages of Liaoning, China. A total of 3607 women aged > or =35 years were selected.At baseline, lifestyle and other factors were obtained. The metabolic syndrome was proposed by the International Diabetes Federation definition. Of the study population 49.6% (age-adjusted: 49.3%) had metabolic syndrome. Overall, 64.7%, 39.2%, 33.8%, and 33.9% of the hypertensive women had central obesity, hypertriglyceridaemia, low HDL cholesterol, and high fasting plasma glucose, respectively. 87.7% of the sample had at least one component of the metabolic syndrome. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that Mongolian nationality and obesity were risk factors for metabolic syndrome. Moderate levels of physical activity and current drinking status were shown as protective factors. There was a positive association between metabolic syndrome and age in the age group between 55 and 64 years.

CONCLUSIONS

The current study demonstrated that the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was dramatically high in hypertensive women, even in the rural areas of China. Further, our study indicated that remarkable ethnic differences exist in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome. Obese and moderate levels of physical activity were a modifiable risk factor.