Disparities in the Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome (MS) and its Components Among University Employees by Age, Gender and Occupation

Abstract

Background: Metabolic Syndrome (MS), a known risk factor for Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) and type II diabetes is an emerging epidemic in China. Studies carried out on the general population indicate a varied clustering of cardiovascular risks in many parts of the country. However, there is limited data on its prevalence in the working population. Workplace can serve as an important place for prevention, control and management of CVD risks. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of MS and its components among University workers, and determine how the prevalence varied according to sex and occupation.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 2,428 University employees (22-60 years) who received an annual clinical examination at the University hospital. Anthropometric measurements, blood pressure, Fasting Plasma Glucose (FPG), and lipid profiles were measured. MS was defined according to the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment panel III modified criteria.Results: Overall prevalence of MS was 6.1%, higher in males (5.1%) than females (1.1%), and increased with age. The most prevalent MS components in all workers were hypertension (37.9%) and hypertryglyceridemia (20.8%), corresponding rates in males were 28.3% and 16.1% while females had a prevalence of 9.6% and 4.7%. After adjustment for age, administrative work was associated (p<0.05) with increased hypertension (odds ratio (OR) =1.474; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.146-1.896) and hyperglycemia (OR=1.469; 95% CI, 1.082-1.993) in male workers, and with hypertension (OR=1.492; 95% CI, 1.071-2.080) in females. However, prevalence of hypertryglyceridemia was lower (OR=0.390; 95% CI, 0.204-0.746) in female administrators compared to those in academics. Obesity, MS and reduced High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol prevalence was not different (p>0.05) between the two occupations in both sexes. Conclusions:Prevalence of MS and its com ponents was higher in male workers than in females, increased with age, and were more common in administrative workers. The findings support the need for gender and occupation specific health interventions to prevent CVDs and type II diabetes in the workplace.

Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome and Its Components among Japanese Workers by Clustered Business Category

“…Furthermore, the past studies suggested that female workers in (11) Professional Services, (13) Health Care, and (18) Public Administration industries are at risk of obesity, hypertension, and glucose intolerance [ 11 , 16 , 21 ]. Our results, however, indicated that (2) Mining, (7) Transportation, (9) Finance, (15) Accommodation, and (16) Cooperative Association industries also had similar unhealthy features of metabolic syndrome components.…”

“…The prevalence of metabolic syndrome has recently been suggested to vary greatly depending on the subject’s business category; high prevalence of metabolic syndrome has been reported among the retired, unemployed [ 9 ], bus drivers [ 10 ], university employees [ 11 ], and workers in the agricultural industry [ 12 ] oil industry [ 13 ], and health care sector [ 14 ].…”

Gender-specific differences in the incidence of microalbuminuria in metabolic syndrome patients after treatment with fimasartan: The K-MetS study

“…Previous studies have shown that hypertension is the most prevalant metabolic risk factor in individuals with MetS[ 12 , 13 ]. Furthermore, the risk for adverse cardiovascular events is higher in hypertensive individuals than in normotensive individuals, and this risk increases as the number of MetS risk factors increases[ 14 ].…”

Phytochemical Screening of Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides) Extracts by UPLC-QTOF-MS and Evaluation of their Antimicrobial Activity

“…The larger broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity of this extract could be explained by the diversity of metabolites it contains, as demonstrated by the UPLC-QTOF-MS analysis. Broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity of different plant extracts has been also observed in recent studies [ 78 , 79 , 80 ]. The results are also consistent with those obtained by [ 81 ], who tested the bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects of quaking aspen bud extracts obtain with a methanol extraction against many different pathogens.…”