Prevalence and risk factors for metabolic syndrome in Asian Indians: A community study from urban Eastern India

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and to identify predictors for the same, specific to an underdeveloped urban locale of Eastern India. Materials and Methods: Study design: Population-based cross-sectional study, with multistage random sampling technique. Setting: Urban city-dwellers in Orissa one of the poorest states of Eastern India bordering a prosperous state of Andhra Pradesh of Southern India. Participants: 1178 adults of age 20-80 years randomly selected from 37 electoral wards of the urban city. Definition of Metabolic Syndrome: We followed a unified definition of the metabolic syndrome by joint interim statement of five major scientific organizations - the International Diabetes Federation, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the American Heart Association, the World Heart Federation, the International Atherosclerosis Society, and the International Association of the Study of Obesity. Individuals who meet at least three of five clinical criteria of abdominal obesity, hypertriglyceredimia, low HDL, hypertension, and hyperglycemia are diagnosed as having the condition; presence of none of these criteria is mandatory. Explicit cut points are defined for all criteria, except elevated waist circumference, which must rely on population and country-specific definitions. Main Outcome Measure: Prevalence and significant predictors of metabolic syndrome. Statistical Analysis: Both descriptive and multivariable logistic regression analyses. Results: Age-standardized prevalence rates of metabolic syndrome were 33.5% overall, 24.9 % in males and 42.3% in females. Older age, female gender, general obesity, inadequate fruit intake, hypercholesterolemia, and middle-to-high socioeconomic status significantly contributed to increased risk of metabolic syndrome. Conclusion: Metabolic syndrome is a significant public health problem even in one of the poorest states of India that needs to be tackled with proven strategies.