Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome Among Qassim University Personnel in Saudi Arabia

Objective: to estimate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome among Qassim university personnel in Saudi Arabia using the definition proposed by NCEP ATPIII. Methods: a cross sectional study that included all male university staff of different ages and careers. 560 individuals participated in this study with a response rate of 85%. For all participants, the data collected were sociodemographic characteristics, past history or receiving medication for diabetes or hypertension, smoking habits, physical activity, and measurements necessary to identify metabolic syndrome. Results: Prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 31.4%. The prevalence was found to show a steady increase with increasing age, BMI and serum cholesterol. General obesity measured by BMI was the most common component associated with the syndrome where 75% of participants suffered from overweight and obesity. Participants with high-density lipoprotein below protective level constituted 73.6%, while those with total cholesterol and triglyceride above clinically normal level constituted 60.0% & 46.4% respectively. Elevated fasting plasma glucose and hypertension were the least common. After adjustment, factors found to be associated with metabolic syndrome were being a Saudi national, smoking, not doing regular exercise, being obese, having total serum cholesterol above 180 mg/dl, and age groups above 40 years. Conclusion: Almost a third of the university personnel have metabolic syndrome and therefore they are at higher risk for both cardiovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus. Similar studies are required among a wider range of subjects to assess the scope of the problem in Saudi Arabia.