Prevalence of metabolic syndrome in a sample of population in Erbil city, Iraq

Abstract

Introduction fatty deposition occurs under the skin in the anterior abdominal wall, buttocks, in the arterial wall, inside the liver (causing fatty liver) and other parts of the body. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of abnormalities that tend to occur together in some individuals. 1 These include abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, dyslipidemia, and high blood pressure. This syndrome is associated with diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and death. 2 Multiple diagnostic criteria have been proposed for detecting MetS. 3 Abdominal obesity is defined as having a waist measurement of at least 40 inches for men and 35 inches for women. Insulin resistance is the inability of the body to use the hormone insulin effectively to regulate sugars and carbohydrates properly. Insulin resistance results in a fasting blood glucose level of 106 mg/dL or higher. High blood pressure is loosely defined as a consistent reading of 130/84 mm Hg or higher. There are often no other signs and symptoms of insulin resistance and high blood pressure for years until complications occur. 4 Hypercholesterolemia or hyperlipidemia is a high level of total cholesterol in the blood. A blood level of triglycerides of 150 mg/dL or higher or a blood level of HDL below 40 mg/dL is considered a symptom of MetS. 2 Modernization, economic development, and technological advances have brought rapid demographic and epidemiological Background and objective: There has been a recent concern about chronic non-communicable diseases in Iraq. The country is undergoing an epidemiological transition with an increasing burden of chronic non-communicable diseases with two-thirds of the people aged 25-65 years old are overweight and one-third are obese. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome with their associated risk factors among a sample of peoples in Erbil city. Methods: This cross-sectional analytic study was carried out in Erbil city and involved a convenience sample of 566 apparently healthy subjects. A structured direct interview using interviewer administered questionnaire was applied. Anthropometric measures, random blood sugar, cholesterol level, triglyceride level, low-density lipoprotein and high-density lipoprotein were investigated. Results: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the studied sample was 30.6%. The prevalence was higher in females (45.5%) than males (16.3%). Variables like gender (P <0.001), age (P = 0.008), education and marriage (P = 0.001), family history of diabetes mellitus (P = 0.029), hyperlipidemia (P <0.001), hypertension (P = 0.047) and obesity (P = 0.005) were found to be factors that significantly associated with metabolic syndrome. Conclusions: Metabolic syndrome is prevalent among the studied population. Female gender, old age, marriage, family history of diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, hypertension and obesity may be regarded as risk factors for metabolic syndrome.

Prevalence of overweight/obesity and associated factors in adults in Erbil, Iraq: A household survey

“…Epi-info was used to calculate the required sample size. Assuming that the prevalence of overweight/obesity in Erbil city population is similar to the 68.7% reported in a previous study conducted in the city, 9 we found that a sample size of 1473 was sufficient to achieve a 95% confidence interval for the prevalence (±2.5%) in this population. The sample was increased to 1500 to accommodate for non-response.…”

“…conducted in Erbil on the prevalence of metabolic syndrome, which revealed an overall prevalence of 68.7%, and a 35% prevalence of obesity. 9 They are also much higher than those of a study conducted in Basrah which revealed a 55.1% prevalence of overweight and obesity. 10 They were also much higher than those of an Iranian study, which revealed a 21.7% prevalence of obesity.…”

Relationship between Metabolic Syndrome and Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis in Sample of Iraqi Patients

“…In light of our indings, we found 54.3% of individuals of the studied group had M.S., which is closest to Al-Thani M. et al study (Al-Thani et al, 2016). But our results disagree with Ismael S.et al (Ismael et al, 2016) in Iraq which showed the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 30.6%. It was higher in women (45.5%) than men (16.3%).…”

Prevalence of metabolic syndrome in female patients with rheumatoid arthritis in Erbil city

“…The presence of MetS may influence the formation of accelerated atherosclerosis and an elevated risk of CV disease in people with Rheumatoid arthritis [9], There is also evidence of a link between RA and MetS inflammatory activity, Patients with RA have also been observed to have a high incidence of MetS [10]. Toms et al found that treating RA patient with methotrexate medication have independently lower incidence of MetS than other disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) or glucocorticoids, implying a drug-specific mechanism and making methotrexate a good first-line DMARD in RA patients at high risk of MetS [11].A study which is conducted in Erbil city by Ismail et al, showed that MetS is prevalent in females by three times than males [12]. According to ministry of health-Iraq (MOH) statistics, the prevalence of MetS risk factors in our region is rising, particularly obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular consequences from untreated MetS [13] .…”