Metabolic Syndrome Prevalence in an Urban African American Population

The metabolic syndrome (MeS) is a clustering of a group of metabolic risk factors in one person that predisposes to higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type II diabetes. The metabolic syndrome has become increasingly common in the United States. With the increase in CVD morbidity and mortality among US adult populations, particularly African Americans, it becomes urgent to monitor and control metabolic syndrome in an effort to inform effective CVD prevention programs. We sought to assess the prevalence of and predictors of MeS syndrome in an urban, high risk, predominantly African American hypertensive population.

The study is part of the NHLBI U01 grant "Baltimore Partnership Programs to Reduce Cardiovascular Disparities". A sample of 150 earlier enrolled patients was selected. Risk factors for metabolic syndrome were assessed at baseline, and include risk factors of abdominal obesity (BMI = 30), high triglycerides (triglycerides = 150 mg/dL), low HDL cholesterol (HDL < 40 mg/dL in men, or HDL <50 mg/dL in women), elevated blood pressure (BP = 130/85 mmHg), and elevated fasting glucose (blood glucose = 100 mg/dL) - per ATP III criteria. We assessed the prevalence of MeS in general and across subgroups, and predictors of MeS were assessed using logistic regression.

The prevalence of MeS in this group of patients was 40%. Significant predictors of MeS include presence of diabetes (P = 0.03; OR = 3.03, 95% CI: 1.07-8.54), younger than 64 (P = 0.04; OR = 2.38, 95% CI: 1.02-5.56), and female gender (P = 0.02; OR = 2.63; OR = 1.18-5.88). The effect of self-perceived health status remain marginally significant (P = 0.13).

In this patient sample, the prevalence of MeS is higher than estimates based on the US general population. Our findings of factors associated with MeS are consistent with existing studies, with the exception of age factor, suggesting the impact of higher treatment rate and better medication compliance among elderly patients.