Socio demographic and lifestyle factors of metabolic syndrome among adult rural indigenous Malaysian population from Perak State, Malaysia

Abstract

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is defined as a cluster of known disorders that increase the risk for morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus. This cross sectional study was carried out to estimate the prevalence of MetS using Adult Treatment Panel 3 (ATP 3) classification and socio-demographic and lifestyle factors contributing to metabolic syndrome among rural indigenous Malaysian population from Perak state, Malaysia which included 148 rural Malay and 145 Orang Asli(OA) individuals. This community based cross-sectional study revealed that the prevalence of MetS was significantly higher among Malays (27.7%) as compared to Orang Aslis (13.8%). Overall Prevalence of Metabolic syndrome in the rural indigenous Malaysian population was 20.8%. Prevalence of abdominal obesity and high blood pressure were significantly higher among Malays as compared to OA population. Metabolic syndrome was significantly higher among those above 45 years of age group in overall rural indigenous Malaysian population and among OA. The prevalence of MetS was significantly higher among those who were obese and overweight and among Malays who were regularly taking snacks between meals. There was no significant association between other dietary risk factors, smoking, alcohol use or physical activity with metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic Syndrome-Related Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behavior among Indigenous Communities in Taiwan: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Thus, educational programs for indigenous communities should be considered part of the current health management policy for adults at high risk of MetS. In particular, designing health education activities adapted to an indigenous community's culture, living habits, educational levels, and treatment-seeking behaviors is necessary [26]. These programs potentially improve the community's MetS knowledge, health attitude, and lifestyle, consequently reducing their CVS-and MetS-related chronic disease risks.…”

“…We recommend that administrative agencies set up equipment, such as sphygmomanometers and weighing scales, in the churches and grocery stores of indigenous communities. Through proper health education, medical personnel can also improve indigenous communities' lifestyle and reduce their MetS risk [26].…”

“…In total, 62.1% of participants had a negative attitude toward reducing their salt intake. Therefore, when performing health education activities, medical personnel should consider the indigenous community's cultural background and work style [26]. Sports should also be taught, and a safe, friendly sports environment should be nurtured in the community.…”

The Unique Role of Self-Rated Health in Metabolic Syndrome and its Diagnostic Cardiometabolic Abnormalities: An Analysis of Population-Based Data

“…Thus, the purpose of the analysis was to control for the confounding effects of MetS diagnostic metrics in assessing the association between SRH and MetS status. Several socio-demographic factors (age, gender, social class, ethnicity) were also treated as covariates, given previous research implicating these characteristics in metabolic health [48][49][50]. We tested three models: Model 1 (MetS = Intercept + Age + Gender + Social Class + Ethnicity), Model 2 (MetS = Intercept + Age + Gender + Social Class + Ethnicity + SRH), Model 3 (MetS = Intercept + Age + Gender + Social Class + Ethnicity + SRH + metabolic factors).…”

“…Simulation studies should compare the effects of different methods for resolving missing data. Finally, although previous research has implicated lifestyle factors in metabolic syndrome (e.g., alcohol intake, physical activity, smoking status) [2,50], these variables were not assessed as potential confounders here. Future research needs to examine the extent to which behavioural risk factors explain associations between SRH and metabolic dysfunction.…”