Metabolic Syndrome in Bangladeshi Menopausal Women

Abstract

Objective: To assess the factors of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in post menopausal women in Bangladesh.Methods: Menopausal women are at increased risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS). This cross-sectional study on 64 willing post menopausal women from an urban and a rural area of Bangladesh was done. The socio-epidemiologic factors with anthropometric examination, blood pressure recording and fasting blood analysis for triglyceride (TG), high density lipoprotein (HDL), sugar were studied.Results: Prevalence of MetS was 50.0% (95% CI= 39.9%- 60.1%) among menopausal women, seventy five percent of them were urban. Low HDL cholesterol prevailed in almost 96% respondents followed by high TG (51%), obesity (28.0%), high fasting blood sugar (FBS, 27.1%) and hypertension (HTN, 16.9%). On logistic regression, age (OR=1.6, 95% CI: 1.3-1. 9), male sex (OR=2.5, 95% CI: 1.4-4.2) and exercise (OR=1.9, 95% CI: 1.2-2.9) produced significantly higher odds of being associated with MetS; rural area (OR=1.4, 95% CI: 1.0-2.1) and sedentary occupation (OR=1.7, 95% CI: 0.9-3.0) were associated just insignificantly. Though higher income, better education, good physical movement and knowledge of MetS produced protective odds, they were not significant.Conclusions: The study suggests that MetS is highly prevalent among Bangladeshi menopausal women. Further studies are needed to identify risk factors and for effective preventive measures to control this metabolic disease.J Bangladesh Coll Phys Surg 2016; 34(1): 15-20