High prevalence of the metabolic syndrome as an emerging health problem in Iranian women
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The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (ATP III criteria) as well as dietary intake based on food frequency questionnaire and physical activity habits were assessed in a cross-sectional study on 12,514 adults of both sexes living in urban and rural areas of 3 cities in Iran, a country undergoing rapid nutritional transition. After adjusting for age, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was higher in women than in men (35.1% vs 10.7%, P<0.05) and in urban residents compared to rural residents (24.2% vs 19.5%, P<0.05). Among women, the most frequent components of metabolic syndrome were abdominal obesity (71.7%), low HDL-C (60.9%) and hypertriglyceridaemia (56.6%), and among men, hypertriglyceridaemia (49.1%) was more prevalent followed by low HDL-C (35.1%). Abdominal obesity was nearly 6 times as prevalent in women as in men and had a significant association with metabolic disorders whereas dietary intake had no effect on the prevalence of metabolic syndrome. For both genders, the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome was significantly higher in subjects with a sedentary lifestyle compared to active subjects. In conclusion, the metabolic syndrome appears to be highly prevalent in the Iranian population, especially in women living in urban areas.
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