Metabolic syndrome in reproductive age: A cross-sectional study

Obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS), as components of excess body weight, have reached global epidemic levels.

The study aimed to investigate the features of the MetS course in men and women of reproductive age.

This cross-sectional study was conducted with 140 participants aged between 35 and 49 yr at City Polyclinics No. 1, 3, and 4, Aktobe, Kazakhstan from March 2016-2019. Participants were divided into 2 subgroups based on diagnosis of MetS. The case group (with MetS), and the control group (without MetS) (n = 70/each consisted of 40 women and 30 men). Anthropometric, instrumental, and laboratory methods were used to confirm the diagnosis of MetS and determine its features in both groups.

The results showed an increase in the uric acid level in the blood to 431.00 $\pm$ 66.37 $\mu$ mol/L and 5.47 $\pm$ 0.90 mol/day in the urine. Dyslipidemia was also noted in the case group of individuals with high-density lipoprotein levels of 1.22 $\pm$ 0.27 mmol/L vs. 1.32 $\pm$ 0.47 mmol/L in the control group. The testosterone level was 16.4 $\pm$ 3.04 nmol/L in the case group and 20.3 $\pm$ 5.6 nmol/L in the control. The difference in testosterone level was found to be statistically significant (p $<$ 0.01).

The analysis of sex hormone levels did not reveal any stable trends that could be considered diagnostic. That may indicate a correlation with the reproductive age characteristics of the examined individuals (men and women): significant differences between hormone levels were fixed in the case and control groups.