Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome among Urban Older Adults of Hyderabad Metropolitan City in South India

Background: Ageing is associated with decline in metabolism, physical activity and increased prevalence of non-communicable diseases like hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidemia. This study was carried out with the objective to assess the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) among urban older adult population. Methodology: A community based cross-sectional pilot study was carried out among 112 geriatric population (≥60 years and over) in Hyderabad metropolitan city by adopting random sampling procedure. Anthropometric measurements and blood pressure were recorded and lipid profile and fasting blood sugar were estimated. International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criterion was adopted for diagnosis of metabolic syndrome. Descriptive statistics like mean (SD) and prevalence were calculated using SPSS (Version 19.0). Chi-square test was performed to study the association between the prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome and different variables. Results: The prevalence of hypertension, central obesity, and high blood sugar was 79.3%, 76.6%, 62.2% respectively. While the proportion of geriatric population with hypertriglyceridemia, hypercholesterolemia and low HDL was 24.3%, 10.8%, 23.4%, respectively. Similarly, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome among urban geriatric population was 54.1% and it was significantly associated with central obesity and high body mass index (BMI). Conclusions: In general, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was high among urban geriatric population. It may be attributed to rapid urbanization and high prevalence of non-communicable diseases. Therefore, adaptation of healthy lifestyles during early stages of adulthood is very essential for the prevention and control of metabolic syndrome and promotion of healthy ageing.