Metabolic syndrome in railway employees and its relation to lifestyle factors

Limited information is available about the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome(MeTS) in India. Railway employees provided a unique opportunity to study the prevalence of MeTS in a variety of jobs.

A total of 995 railway employees, 872 males (mean age 42.96 +/- 7.91) and 123 females (mean age 44.28 +/- 7.91), underwent physical examination and anthropometric measurement for waist circumference; 605 males and 95 females also underwent biochemical examination. MeTS was diagnosed using ATP III criteria modified for Indians.

The prevalence of MeTs in males was 162/605 (26.77%) and in females 26/95 (27.36%). Amongst all components of MeTS, high waist circumference was most prevalent in females (89.83%) and systolic hypertension in males (61.12%). In multivariate analysis, waist circumference in both genders had good association with sedentary job (P < 0.02), high fasting blood sugar (P < 0.02), age 45 years or older (P < 0.001), high systolic blood pressure (P < 0.001), high diastolic blood pressure (P < 0.001), physical inactivity (P < 0.001), while the correlation of dyslipidemia (low HDL and high triglycerides) with high waist circumference was not statistically significant.

These results from a representative sample of Solapur division railway employees show that the MeTs is highly prevalent mainly in sedentary workers aged 45 years or older. The large numbers of Indian Railway employees with the MeTs may carry important implications for the health care sector.