Prevalence of metabolic syndrome and metabolic syndrome components in young adults: A pooled analysis

Abstract

Metabolic syndrome (MetSyn) represents a clustering of different metabolic abnormalities. MetSyn prevalence is present in approximately 25% of all adults with increased prevalence in advanced ages. The presence of one component of MetSyn increases the risk of developing MetSyn later in life and likely represents a high lifetime burden of cardiovascular disease risk. Therefore we pooled data from multiple studies to establish the prevalence of MetSyn and MetSyn component prevalence across a broad range of ethnicities. PubMed, SCOPUS and Medline databases were searched to find papers presenting MetSyn and MetSyn component data for 18–30 year olds who were apparently healthy, free of disease, and MetSyn was assessed using either the harmonized, National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATPIII), American Heart Association/National Heart, Blood and Lung Institute (AHA/NHBLI), or International Diabetes Federation (IDF) definitions of MetSyn. After reviewing returned articles, 26,609 participants' data from 34 studies were included in the analysis and the data were pooled. MetSyn was present in 4.8–7% of young adults. Atherogenic dyslipidaemia defined as low high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol was the most prevalent MetSyn component (26.9–41.2%), followed by elevated blood pressure (16.6–26.6%), abdominal obesity (6.8–23.6%), atherogenic dyslipidaemia defined as raised triglycerides (8.6–15.6%), and raised fasting glucose (2.8–15.4%). These findings highlight that MetSyn is prevalent in young adults. Establishing the reason why low HDL is the most prevalent component may represent an important step in promoting primary prevention of MetSyn and reducing the incidence of subsequent clinical disease.

A study of the prevalence of generalized obesity, abdominal obesity, regional adiposity, and metabolic syndrome among young adults

“…Recently, Nolan et al published an article pertaining to analysis of pooled data from 34 studies and presented that MetS was present in 4.8-7% among young adults. [33] In accord with earlier studies performed in obese subjects, the higher BMR of our male subjects can be explained mostly by their higher fat-free mass as compared to females [34,35] and marked increase BMR in obese subjects of both sexes as compared to healthy individuals might be due to the presence of a larger fat-free mass component of the increased weight of the obese and overweight subjects. [36] …”

Supervised lifestyle intervention for people with metabolic syndrome improves outcomes and reduces individual risk factors of metabolic syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Approximately 25% of adults worldwide have metabolic syndrome [1,2]. It is an increasingly prevalent condition characterised by a clustering of metabolic risk factors including abdominal obesity, raised triglycerides, lowered HDL cholesterol, hypertension and impaired glucose tolerance.…”

Oleuropein: A natural antioxidant molecule in the treatment of metabolic syndrome

“…The most common metabolic factors considered in defining metabolic syndrome are hyperglycemia/impaired glucose tolerance, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and obesity (Parikh & Mohan, ). Epidemiologically, using a combination of presently employed descriptions, its worldwide prevalence in persons aged 18–30 years has been estimated to be 5.2% (Nolan, Carrick‐Ranson, Stinear, Reading, & Dalleck, ). Prevalence studies have reported a positive correlation between age and incidence of metabolic syndrome.…”