Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome and Associated Risk Factors among Men in a Rural Health Centre Area in Tamil Nadu

BACKGROUND: MetS is one of the emerging health problems of the world with prevalence higher among Asians, including Indians, and is rising especially in the rural area. Hence, the objectives were to estimate the prevalence of MetS and its association with life style risk factors among adult men. METHODS: Cross-Sectional based study conducted in the rural area of Kancheepuram District recruiting 360 participants at the age group of 20–40 years by PPS from 9 villages and from each village participants were selected by simple random sampling. Using modified NCEP-ATP III guidelines, criteria for MetS were defined and the prevalence and its associated lifestyle risk factors were evaluated. RESULTS: The prevalence of MetS was found to be 16.7%. Higher prevalence was observed among the older age group 31–40 years with 32.4%. Among the five components of MetS, most observed component was Hypertriglyceridemia followed by high WC, abnormal DBP with 31%, 14% and 7% respectively. In Logistic Regression analysis, variables like Increased age, alcohol intake, high WC, raised TG level, raised FBS level and high average DBP were strongly associated with MetS as it was statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The present study showed a high prevalence of MetS amongst men 31–40 years and strong association between MetS and lifestyle risk factors could be a major health problem in rural area, indicating that it was not necessarily a result of modernization. These findings make it critical to plan further healthcare interventions to prevent the adverse consequences of the disease.