title: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular risk factors in adults in southern China.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The metabolic syndrome has been shown to increase the incidence of cardiovascular disease. Little information exists on the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome for southern Chinese. We therefore investigate the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in a southern Chinese population with 85 million residents.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Guangdong Nutrition and Health Survey 2002 is a cross-sectional survey designed to assess the health and nutritional status of 85 million residents in Guangdong province located in southern China. Stratified multistage random sampling method was applied in this survey and a provincial representative sample of 6,468 residents aged 20 years or above was obtained in the present study. The participants received a full medical check-up including measurement of blood pressure, obesity indices, fasting lipids and glucose levels. Data describing socioeconomic and lifestyle factors was also collected through interview. Metabolic syndrome was defined in accordance with the International Diabetes Federation criteria.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 7.30%, translating into a total of 4.0 million residents aged 20 years or above having the condition in this southern Chinese population. The urban population had higher prevalence of the syndrome than the rural population (10.57% vs 4.30%). Females had a higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome than males (8.99% vs 5.27%). More than 60% of the adults had at least one component of the metabolic syndrome.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results indicate that a large proportion of southern Chinese adults have the metabolic syndrome and associated risk factors. The metabolic syndrome has become an important public health problem in China. These findings emphasize the urgent need to develop population level strategies for the prevention, detection, and treatment of cardiovascular risk in China.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, HongKong, China.
authors.forename: Xiang Qian
authors.initials: XQ
authors.lastname: Lao
authors.forename: Yong Hui
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Martin Chi Sang
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Yan Jun
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Hao Feng
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Shao Ping
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Nie
authors.forename: Wen Jun
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: G Neil
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: Ignatius Tak Sun
authors.initials: IT
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population; D014505:Urban Population