Profile of Metabolic Syndrome in Newly Detected Hypertensive Patients in India: An Hospital-Based Study

BACKGROUND: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is recognized as an emerging threat and interest of public health because the factors defining syndrome are associated with increased risk of mortality and morbidity. Hypertension further adds to risk factor leading to target organ damage. Recognizing the MetS in patients with hypertension provides a great opportunity for more aggressive treatment. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study is to estimate the prevalence and evaluate the metabolic profile of MetS in newly diagnosed adult hypertensive participants. METHODOLOGY: This is an hospital-based cross-sectional study. A total of 400 participants with newly detected essential hypertension were included in the study after detailed medical and laboratory investigations done to exclude the secondary hypertension. After the informed consent, a structured proforma was filled containing the demographic data; medical history; physiological parameters such as blood pressure, height, weight, and waist circumference; some laboratory investigations such as lipid profile and fasting blood glucose. Descriptive statistics such as mean and proportion were used. To compare the proportions, Chi-square test was used. Kappa agreement was utilized to know the level of agreement between various criteria defining MetS. RESULTS: The prevalence of MetS according to the International Diabetes Federation criteria in the new hypertensive study participants was 50.5% more common in females. One-fourth of young hypertensives was having MetS. Hypertensive patients with MetS show risk factors at significantly higher range than their counterparts. High-density lipoprotein was the most common risk factor present apart from increased waist circumference. There was a wide variation in the prevalence of MetS in the Indian population by different criteria. CONCLUSION: Half of the new hypertensive patients had MetS and thus it becomes very important to screen all the hypertensives at the onset for MetS and treat them aggressively to decrease the cardiovascular events.