Metabolic syndrome and its risk factors among middle aged population of Iran, a population based study.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) and its risk factors in a middle-aged population in Iran.


METHODS
The sample was 5190 individuals aged 40-64 years participated in the first phase of the Shahroud eye cohort study. Prevalence of MS was determined in terms of the age and sex. Other variables were evaluated by using simple and multiple logistic regression methods.


RESULTS
The prevalence of MS was 10.88% in men, 13.03% in women and 12.14% in total. The prevalence proportion increased with increasing age. In multivariate logistic regression model, age (odds ratio (OR)=1.06), education (OR=0.98) and smoking (OR=0.50), had significant effects on MS. In this model, gender, marital status and economic status had no significant effect on MS. Higher prevalence of obesity and overweight in non-smokers (79.9%) compare to smokers (47.4%, P<0.001), indicated that the association of smoking and MS is confounded.


CONCLUSIONS
Despite the low prevalence of MS in this study, older age was associated with increased risk of developing MS and higher education was associated with decreased this risk, therefore health education, changing the lifestyle, and taking greater attention in elderly is needed in order to prevent the MS and its complications.
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, Iran.
Hossein
H
Ebrahimi
Center for Health Related Social and Behavioral Sciences Research, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, Iran.
Mohammad Hassan
MH
Emamian
Department of Community Medicine, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mohammad
M
Shariati
Noor Ophthalmology Research Center, Noor Eye Hospital, Tehran, Iran.
Hassan
H
Hashemi
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: afotouhi@tums.ac.ir.
Akbar
A
Fotouhi
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D050177:Overweight; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
Iran; Metabolic syndrome; Prevalence; Risk factors