Reevaluation of the Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome in an Urban Area of Turkey

Objective: Our aim was to reveal a change in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) in the province of Konya in five years. Methods: We studied 202 obese children and adolescents (body mass index >95th percentile) aged between 7 and 18 years. The diagnosis of impaired glucose tolerance, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and MS were defined according to the modified World Health Organization criteria adapted for children. Results: MS was found in 56.4 % with a significantly higher rate among adolescents aged 12-18 years (63.2%) than among prepubertal children aged 7-11 years (47%) (p=0.01). The prevalence figures for insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, and T2DM were 60, 8, and 2% among prepubertal children and 81.8, 12.8, and 0% among adolescents, respectively. The prevalence of fasting hyperinsulinemia in adolescents was significantly higher than in prepubertal children (p<0.001). Hypertension was significantly more common in adolescents (42.8%) than in prepubertal children (32.9%) (p=0.04). Conclusions: We found that the incidence of MS in the city center of Konya approximately doubled in the last five years with increased rates of morbidity and abnormal lipid profiles. Conflict of interest:None declared.