Prevalence and Characteristics of Prediabetes and Metabolic Syndrome in Seemingly Healthy Persons at a Health Check-Up Clinic

Abstract

Purpose

This study investigated the prevalence and characteristics of prediabetes (PreDM) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in seemingly healthy persons attending a health check-up clinic at a tertiary care hospital.

Patients and Methods

This was a cross-sectional study that enrolled 1213 subjects (339 male, 874 female) who underwent an annual health check-up at Siriraj Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand from 2009 to 2019. Factors that independently related to PreDM were analyzed using unconditional logistic regression analysis with adjustments for age, BMI, and gender.

Results

The prevalence of PreDM and MetS was 54.3% and 19.7% respectively. Participants with impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and glycated hemoglobin (HbA_1c) 38.8–46.4 mmol/mol had significantly higher waist circumference (WC) and blood pressure (BP) compared to those with IFG or HbA_1c 38.8–46.4 mmol/mol alone (P < 0.05). Among three PreDM subgroups, the average age was lowest in the HbA_1c 38.8–46.4 mmol/mol subgroup (P < 0.001). PreDM participants with MetS were older (p = 0.03), had higher WC, BP, fasting plasma glucose and serum triglyceride level (all P < 0.001) but had lower serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol level (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed high MetS score, obesity, and low serum HDL cholesterol level to be independently associated with PreDM with odds ratios of 9.02 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.03–20.18), 1.8 (95% CI: 1.07–3.04), and 1.42 (95% CI: 1.02–1.96), respectively.

Conclusion

The prevalence of PreDM and MetS was relatively high in seemingly healthy persons. Distinct PreDM subgroups with or without MetS exhibited diverse clinical and biochemical features suggesting dissimilar pathogenesis.

Keywords:

• seemingly healthy persons
• health check-up clinic
• prediabetes
• metabolic syndrome

Acknowledgments

The study was conducted in accordance with the ethical standard of the Helsinki Declaration. The ethical clearance for the study was obtained from the Siriraj Institutional Review Board (SIRB) Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University (COA no. Si 107/2009 and COA no. Si 491/2014). The authors gratefully acknowledge Assist. Prof. Dr. Chulaluk Komoltri for assistance with statistical analysis. This research project was funded by a Siriraj Research Grant for Research and Development from the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand (grant no. R016120003).

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.