Abstract

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) has been variously defined because of varying emphasis placed on its components - dyslipidaemia, hypertension (HBP), hyperglyecmia (HG) and abnormal weight. MetS may be associated with diabetes (DM), HBP, chronic kidney disease (CKD) and apparent health (AH). Unfortunately, the frequency of the diagnostic combination of the risk factors in these conditions has not been reported because it could have therapeutic implications. Data generated in earlier studies on 1107 subjects were analyzed. MetS was diagnosed according to the NCEP-ATP 111 criteria. The frequency of the ten possible diagnostic combinations of the risk factor of MetS was counted and analyzed in each condition associated with the syndrome. The triad, truncal obesity (TO), HBP and decreased high density lipoprotein cholesterol (LHDC) recorded the highest frequency in AH subjects, (males 58.8 and females 38.1%)  Among the male patients, HBP, HG and decreased LHDC had the highest frequency (DM, 29.9%; HBP 31.8%; CKD 35.5%). The frequency of the diagnostic triads in the female patients differed from that of the males.  The combination of TO, HBP and hypertriglyceridaemia (HTG) absent among the male patients gave the highest frequency in female hypertension and CKD patients. The risk factors combination of TO, HBP and LHDLC can be used for screening MetS in the study population especially among the AH subjects. Moreover, TO appears to be the single most significant risk factor for MetS in the population.

Key words: Metabolic syndrome, truncal obesity, diabetes, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, risk factors.