Elsevier

Atherosclerosis

Volume 184, Issue 1, January 2006, Pages 188-192
Atherosclerosis

Prevalence rate of metabolic syndrome and dyslipidemia in a large professional population in Beijing

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2005.03.033Get rights and content

Abstract

The metabolic syndrome (MS) was a clustering of some cardiovascular risk factors, including hypertriglyceridemia, obesity, insulin resistance, glucose intolerance and hypertension. MS patients are at a risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Although the prevalence of MS in variety of ethnic group has been well documented, limited information is available about the prevalence in Chinese population. The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of the MS and dyslipidemia among 16,342 subjects (8801 males and 7541 females) aged 20–90 years in Beijing. 51.9% males and 40.8% females had at least one abnormal serum lipid concentration. The age-standardized prevalence of MS was 13.2% according to Chinese Diabetes Society (CDS) definition of the MS. The prevalence increased with age in both genders. MS was more commonly seen in males than in females (15.7% versus 10.2%). According to the diagnostic criterion, dyslipidemia was observed in 51.9% of males and 40.8% of females, and there was obvious difference between them (P < 0.001). This report on the MS and dyslipidemia from Beijing professional population showed a high prevalence of these disorders. Efforts on promoting healthy diets and physical activity in China should be undertaken.

Introduction

The metabolic syndrome (MS) was characteristic of elevations of apolipoprotein B, remnant lipoproteins and small LDL particles; reduced HDL cholesterol; elevated blood pressure; insulin resistance and glucose intolerance; and coagulation abnormalities. People with the MS were at increased risk for developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease as well as increased mortality from CVD and all causes. The Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program Expert Panel on detection, evaluation and treatment of high blood cholesterol in adults (ATP III) highlighted the importance of treating patients with MS to prevent coronary heart disease [1].

According to NHANES III, an estimated 47 million U.S. residents had the MS. The age-adjusted prevalence for adults was 23.7%. The number of people with MS increased with age, affecting more than 40% of people in their 60s and 70s [2]. Limited information was available about the prevalence of the MS in China. Then the study was conducted to investigate the prevalence rate of MS and dyslipidemia in a population-based study in Beijing.

Section snippets

Study population

From September 2003 to July 2004, a total of 16,344 adults in Beijing (8803 males, 7541 females) aged 20–90 years who attended the medical examinations were recruited in the study, including corporation clerks, educational faculties (over 90%) and health officers. The majority of the subjects had received good education (over 3/4 were university men and graduate students). 9.9% used antihypertensive medication, 3.4% received hypoglycemic agents or insulin and 5.7% used hypolipidemic medication.

General features in the population

Table 1 showed the clinical features of the subjects.

The age-standardized prevalence rate of MS using ATP III and CDS criteria

The age-standardized prevalence of the MS using ATP III and CDS criteria in the study population was 8.6% and 12.2%, respectively. As shown in Fig. 1, the prevalence rate using CDS criteria was higher than that using ATP III criteria in both genders.

The prevalence rate of MS defined by CDS criteria is shown in Table 2. The prevalence increased with age in both genders. In males, the lowest prevalence was seen in the 20–29 age group (5.8%),

Discussion

MS was originally described by Reaven [5] as a quartet of hypertension, glucose intolerance and dyslipidemia (high TG, low HDL-C), with insulin resistance or hyperinsulinemia. Epidemiologic studies have shown that MS occurs in a wide variety of ethnic groups including Caucasians, African–Americans, Mexican–Americans, Asian-Indians and Chinese [6], [7], [8], [9]. The prevalence of the syndrome depends on the definition used. The World Health Organization (WHO) [10], the European Group for the

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