Metabolic Risks among College Students: Prevalence and Gender Differences.
BACKGROUND
Little is known about the rate of metabolic dysfunction and gender differences in late adolescence or early adulthood. We report here the prevalence of and gender differences in components of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) in a college sample.


METHODS
Three hundred students (2/3 female) with no prior diagnosis of illness from the University of Kansas, Lawrence, participated in a cross-sectional measurement of weight, height, fasting blood, and 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test. Prevalence of metabolic risks was determined using the Adult Treatment Panel (ATP) III, World Health Organization or International Diabetes Federation criteria. Gender differences in both continuous and dichotomous metabolic variables were tested.


RESULTS
The prevalence of MetS was low, but the rate of having at least one abnormal component ranged from 26% to 40%. Different criteria identified different individuals with the MetS. Prevalence was high for low levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (24%), impaired fasting glucose (9%), and hypertriglyceridemia (9%). Fasting insulin was useful in capturing at-risk individuals in addition to ATP-III criteria. Males were more obese, hypertensive, and hypertriglyceridemic than females, but all 9 cases of impaired glucose tolerance were female.


CONCLUSIONS
The college age and setting are a unique opportunity to monitor and intervene on early risk factors of chronic disease. Undiagnosed metabolic dysfunction is high and problematic in this age group. Unique gender differences in glucose metabolism warrant further research and should be considered in the design of intervention strategies.
Huang
Terry T-K
TT
Endocrinology, Nutrition, and Growth Branch, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD.
Shimel
Aaron
A
Lee
Rebecca E
RE
Delancey
William
W
Strother
Myra L
ML