Abstract

There is evidence worldwide of the high prevalence of obesity, hyperglycemia and metabolic syndrome in health care providers, although very scanty data is available on this in sub Saharan Africa. The present study aims to determine the frequency of diabetes, elevated Body mass index (BMI) and metabolic syndrome among health-care workers in some hospitals and clinics in Douala, Cameroon. An observational and cross-sectional study was done for the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome. The 2005 definition of The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) was used for 147 health workers. Data were grouped and analyzed according to gender and age. 7.5% of the hospital workers had metabolic syndrome, 71.2% were at high risk of developing metabolic syndrome because of elevated abdominal obesity, 38.4% were obese (BMI ≥ 30) and 4.8% had elevated blood sugar levels. The prevalence rate increased with age: 2.9% (18 to 36 years), 9.5% (37 to 55 years) and 50% for more than 56 years. The definition gave the highest prevalence rate of 7.5% while the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III) gave 0.7% with the World health organization (WHO) (1999) giving the lowest prevalence rate of 00%. There is a high prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome among health care personnel in the Littoral region of Cameroon. It is imperative to implement programs to screen these risk factors by means of routine medical exams and improving the lifestyles of Cameroonian health care workers. These study findings could be the basis for future research among hospital staff and the general population.

Key words: International Diabetes Federation (IDF), hyperglycemia, metabolic syndrome, body mass index.