Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome in Adults in Yazd 2014-2015: Results of Yazd Health Study (Yahs)

Introduction: Metabolic syndrome is a series of disorders such as central obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, decreasing HDL, abnormal blood glucose and hypertension that ultimately lead to the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other problems. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of this syndrome among adults in Yazd. Methods: This study was performed using the data of the recruitment phase of "Yazd Health Study" (YaHS). More than 10,000 residents (aged 20-69 years) of Yazd Greater Area have participated in this prospective cohort study. Lifestyle data, disease history, and blood tests have been recorded. Sampling was cluster random based on the postal code of the residents of Yazd Greater Area. Out of the 10,000 participants in the study, approximately 4,000 people gave blood samples to the lab in the first phase and their data were used to calculate the syndrome. Metabolic syndrome was defined based on the ATP III criteria. Data were analyzed by SPSS Version 16. Results: The overall prevalence of syndrome was 33.3%. The prevalence had a significant relationship with age, age over 40 years, reaching to the highest level of over 50%. The prevalence in women was 39.9%, more than men, with 25.9%. Frequency of abnormal components of the syndrome was respectively waist circumference or abdominal obesity (47.1%), diastolic or systolic blood pressure (43.7%), triglyceride (41.6%), HDL (39.5%) and fasting blood glucose (21.7). 67.5% and 91.7% of those with syndrome were obese or overweight, respectively. Conclusion: The study showed that the prevalence of metabolic syndrome, especially in women and those over 50 years old, is higher than other studies. General obesity, central obesity and hypertension are the most important components of metabolic syndrome in Yazd, which requires proper interventions.