Metabolic syndrome and its correlates: A cross-sectional study among adults aged 18-49 years in an Urban Area of West Bengal.

BACKGROUND

The prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) is increasing dramatically of late, across all ages irrespective of gender, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity. People with MetS have twice the likelihood of developing and dying from cardiovascular disease and more than seven times the risk of developing diabetes.

OBJECTIVES

This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of MetS among adults who were in their first three decades of adulthood and to find out the risk factors of MetS among them.

METHODS

This was a community based cross-sectional study among 388 subjects aged 18-49 years selected by multistage random sampling in an area of Kolkata, India, from November 2016 to October 2018 over 2 years. Data collection was done using a structured questionnaire along with anthropometry, blood pressure measurement, and relevant blood tests. Physical activity was classified by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short-Form questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (version 16.0), and descriptive statistics were calculated as frequency and percentage. Logistic regression was done to determine the strength of association between MetS and different risk factors.

RESULTS

The prevalence of MetS was 44.6% (35.4% in males and 55.6% in females), and female gender, poor economic status, sedentary lifestyle, poor diet, and addiction of tobacco were found to be the risk factors of MetS in the final model using multivariable logistic regression.

CONCLUSION

This research revealed the high prevalence of MetS in the community. The effective primordial and primary level of prevention along with prevailing secondary or tertiary level of prevention should have been employed to curtail the epidemic of MetS.