Females, Hispanics and older individuals are at greatest risk of developing metabolic syndrome in the U.S.

BACKGROUND

The increasing prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and MetS related complications in the U.S. poses a serious public health burden. We aim to identify high risk groups at greatest risk of developing MetS in the U.S.

METHODS

Using data from the 2001-2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), MetS prevalence among adults (age≥18) was stratified by sex, race/ethnicity and age to identify groups at greatest risk of MetS. Mutlivariate logistic regression models evaluated for predictors of MetS.

RESULTS

Overall, the prevalence of MetS in the U.S. was 78 million during the study period. There was a greater prevalence of MetS in females compared to males (34.4% vs. 29.6%, p<0.001). Females had a 25% higher risk of MetS compared to males (OR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.18-1.32, p<0.001). Hispanics had a higher risk of MetS when compared to non-Hispanic whites (OR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.04-1.23, p<0.01). The prevalence of MetS increased with increasing age (age <40: 17.5% vs. age 40-49: 29.7% vs. age 50-59: 37.5% vs. age 60-69: 44.4% vs. age ≥70: 47.0%, p<0.001), and individuals age 70 and over were more than 5 times more likely to have MetS than those less than age 40 (OR, 5.12, 4.71-5.57, p<0.001) CONCLUSIONS: The high prevalence of MetS in the U.S. affects females, Hispanics, and older individuals the greatest. The aging population and increasing Hispanic population further highlight the huge burden of disease MetS will place on the healthcare system in the U.S.