BackgroundThe evaluation of metabolic syndrome in a society predisposed to the diabetes mellitus epidemic opens a new avenue to understanding this rapidly growing global metabolic problem. Although Saudi Arabia reports one of the highest prevalence levels of obesity and diabetes, a very limited number of epidemiological studies have examined the prevalence of metabolic syndrome. Therefore, the main aim of the current study was to estimate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its risk factors among the adult Saudi population in comparison to other countries.MethodsA total of 12,126 Saudi subjects were randomly recruited from the 13 administrative regions, and evaluated for metabolic syndrome and its risk factors. This exercise was carried out by trained physicians, through clinical evaluations and overnight fasting blood glucose and lipid profile measurements. Both the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and modified National Cholesterol Education Program and Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III) Criteria were employed, and subjects with metabolic syndrome were identified using country-specific waist circumference cutoff values.ResultsThe prevalence of metabolic syndrome in Saudi Arabia was found to be 39.8% (34.4% in men and 29.2% in women) and 31.6% (45.0% in men and 35.4% in women), according to the NCEP ATP III and IDF criteria, respectively. Metabolic syndrome was also observed to be more prevalent among men and older subjects. The most frequently observed component of metabolic syndrome was found to be low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), followed by abdominal obesity. The most significant risk factors in the studied cohort included age ≥ 45, smoking history, low educational level, and living in urban areas.ConclusionsThis study shows a high prevalence of metabolic syndrome in Saudi Arabia, and thereby warrants urgent implementation of preventive health care strategies to reduce both morbidity and mortality related to this medical problem.

Screening for diabetic kidney disease (DKD) remains a challenge; however, there has been an ongoing research to investigate the diagnostic value of different biomarkers to identify DKD. The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic value of both N-acetyl-beta-d-glucosaminidase (NAG) and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) in the progression of DKD. This cross-sectional case-control study included 92 type 2 diabetic patients with or without DKD. Urinary NAG and NGAL were measured to evaluate their diagnostic values as biochemical markers related to DKD. Both urinary NAG and NGAL levels were significantly higher among patients with DKD. In multiple linear regression analysis, NAG showed a positive significant association with NGAL in the three different adjusted models, while no significant correlation with fasting blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin, serum creatinine, estimated glomerular filtration rate, and albumin creatinine ratio were observed. The area under the curve for NGAL was 0.659 (p = 0.01) and 0.564 (p = 0.297) for NAG in DKD patients. This study demonstrates the association between urinary NAG and NGAL as a tubular damage marker for DKD although longitudinal studies are needed to evaluate its diagnostic value.

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