The Prevalence and Trend of Metabolic Syndrome in the South-East of Iran

Metabolic syndrome (Mets) is a set of metabolic disorders including abdominal obesity, insulin resistance or disorders of glucose absorption and metabolism, lipid disorders, and hypertension, which increases the risk of chronic diseases including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and mortality. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the trend of Mets and its components in Zahedan, a city located in South-East of Iran, from 2009 to 2017. A total of 761 individuals aged >20 years were followed from 2009 to 2017. The frequency of metabolic syndrome was measured at two-time points based on four criteria: International Diabetes Federation (IDF), National Cholesterol Education Program-Third Adult Treatment Panel (NCEP-ATP III), Third Adult Treatment Panel (ATP III), and American Heart Association and the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (AHA/NHLBI). The prevalence of Mets ranged from 16.6 (95% CI: 13.9 - 19.2) (ATP III) to 23.70% (95% CI: 20.6 - 26.6) (AHA/NHLBI) in 2009. Accordingly, it increased from 5.2% to 7.3% during the study period using different criteria such that the frequency of Mets varied from 21.8 (95% CI: 18.8 - 24.7) (ATP III) to 31.0% (95% CI: 27.7 - 34.3) (AHA/NHLBI) in 2017. The increasing trend was prominent among females, persons aged <40 years, and those with the lowest educational level. Two components of Mets (abdominal obesity and diabetes) increased in prevalence, whereas elevated blood pressure, hypertriglyceridemia, and low HDL declined. The study revealed an annual increase rate of about 1% in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome. Therefore, the increasing trend of some components of Mets highlights the urgency of addressing these components as health priorities.