Abstract
The study aimed to investigate the association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and lifestyle risk factors among Ellisras adults. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 624 adults (306 males and 318 females). MetS was defined according to the criteria of the International Diabetes Federation. The prevalence of MetS was 23.1% (8.6% males and 36.8 % females). Females appeared to have higher mean values for waist circumference (WC), fasting blood glucose (FBG), total cholesterol (TCHOL) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), while males had high mean values for high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides (TG), systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). No significant age and gender differences were observed for dietary intake. Significantly more females (51.9%) presented with increased WC than males (4.6%). Participants who had a high dietary energy intake were significantly less likely to present with larger WC (OR: 0.250 95% CI [0.161; 0.389]), low HDL-C (OR: 0.306 95% CI [0.220; 0.425]) and high LDL-C (OR: 0.583 95% CI [0.418; 0.812]) but more likely to present with elevated FBG (OR: 1.01 95% CI [0.735; 1.386]), high TCHOL (OR: 1.039 95% CI [0.575; 1.337]), high TG (OR: 1.186 95% CI [0.695; 2.023]) and hypertension (OR: 5.205 95% CI [3.156; 8.585]). After adjusting for age, gender, smoking, and alcohol status, high energy intake was more than two times likely to predict MetS in adults with a large WC (OR: 2.766 95% CI [0.863; 3.477] and elevated FBG (OR: 2.227 95% CI [1.051; 3.328]). Therefore, identifying groups that are at an increased risk and those that are in their early stages of MetS will help improve and prevent the increase of the MetS in the future.
Highlights
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a global problem associated with the clustering of several cardiovascular risk factors [1, 2]
With regard to differences between age groups, most risk factors were more prevalence in the older age group (25–30 years), except for fasting blood glucose (FBG) and HDL-C (5.56 ± 0.91 and 1.16 ± 0.31, respectively) that were higher in the 18–24-year-old group compared to 1.16 ± 0.31) and 1.14 ± 0.35, respectively) in the 25–30-year-old group)
There were no significant differences between age groups for all the measured risk factors except for the DBP where the mean value was 68.78 ± 9.37) in the 18–24-year-old group compared to 70.96 ± 10.05 in the 25–30-year-old group (p < 0.05)
Summary
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a global problem associated with the clustering of several cardiovascular risk factors [1, 2]. NCDs and CDs in the country are influenced by socio-demographic factors; and tend to be more prominent in certain segments of the population [1, 4,5,6]. The South African population is comprised of various ethnic groups [7]. The rise in NCDs in the country can be explained by the rapid nutrition transition associated with urbanization, the adoption of “Westernized” diets (diets high in fat, added sugar, and salt) and lifestyles (sedentary activity, excessive alcohol intake, and smoking) as well as the diversity of cultural and ethnic beliefs [8, 9]
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