Factors associated with metabolic syndrome in climacteric women of southern Brazil

Abstract

ABSTRACTAim To investigate the association between socioeconomic, demographic, behavioral, and reproductive factors and the metabolic syndrome (MS) in climacteric women.Method This cross-sectional study was carried out in a sample of 527 women aged 40–65 years seen at an outpatient menopause and gynecologic surgery clinic in Southern Brazil. MS was defined according to NCEP-ATP III diagnostic criteria. Poisson regression was used to calculate crude and adjusted prevalence ratios and their respective 95% confidence intervals (CI).Results The prevalence of MS was 54.8% (95% CI 50.6–59.1%), varying with menopausal status (45.7% before menopause, 56.3% in perimenopause, and 57.5% in postmenopausal women). Among the components of MS, hypertension and abdominal obesity were the most prevalent (84.8% and 66.8%, respectively). The prevalence of MS rose with advancing age and increasing parity. Women with low education (years of schooling) showed a higher prevalence of MS compared to those with a high education level (64% vs. 36.8%). Women with early menarche (≤11 years of age) showed an increase of 32% in MS prevalence (95% CI 1.08–1.62) compared to those with a late menarche (≥14 years of age).Conclusion These findings are relevant to public health, particularly as they show the significance of exposure to long-term, hard-to-reverse effects, such as early menarche and low educational achievement, in the development of metabolic syndrome.