Prevalence and Predictors of Metabolic Syndrome in Young Asymptomatic Gujarati Population

Background. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of risk factors leading to the development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) and its predictors in young and apparently healthy Gujarati individuals. Methods. This population based cross-sectional study involved a total of 1500 healthy adults of 20-40 years of age. Demographic details and clinical data such as body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and blood pressure were measured along with the estimations of lipoprotein (a), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), total lipid, LDL/HDL ratio, TC/HDL ratio, and fasting blood glucose (FBS). Results. Overall in young Gujarati population (20-40 years) prevalence rates of MS were 16.0% (male: 21.5%; female: 10.8%) where the metabolic abnormalities increased with advanced age as 9.56% of the young population (20-30 years) had MS, in contrast to the 24.57% in the old (31-40 years). Odds ratio analysis had indicated BMI (1.120; 95% CI: 1.077-1.163; P < 0.0001) as the strongest risk factor for MS closely followed by advancing age (1.100; 95% CI: 1.061-1.139; P < 0.0001) levels. Conclusion. Prevalence of metabolic syndrome in young Gujarati population reinforces the need for early life style intervention and awareness programs in this ethnic group.