The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in premenopausal and postmenopausal women in Southern Thailand

Abstract

Objective: To assess the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in premenopausal and postmenopausal women in Southern Thailand.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 361 healthy women (218 premenopausal women and 143 postmenopausal women) in Southern Thailand. Blood pressure, anthropometric indices, fasting plasma glucose and serum lipid levels were measured. MetS was defined according to criteria of the “National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Panel Treatment III” (NCEP ATPIII). Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate factors associated with MetS.

Results: Waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and levels of total cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) were significantly higher in postmenopausal women, when compared with premenopausal women (p < 0.05). The prevalence of MetS in postmenopausal women (29.37%), was significantly higher than that of premenopausal women (16.97%) (p = 0.005). The most frequent component of MetS in postmenopausal women was central obesity (58.74%), followed by hypertension (58.04%), high triglyceride (27.97%), low HDL-C (23.08%), and high FPG (11.19%). Multivariate analysis revealed that age and higher body mass index (BMI) increased the risk of developing MetS.

Conclusion: The prevalence of MetS is higher in postmenopausal women than in premenopausal women, and its significant predictors include age and BMI.

Chinese abstract

目的:旨在评估泰国南部绝经前及绝经后妇女代谢综合征（metabolic syndrome,MetS）的流行情况。

方法:在361名泰国南部健康女性中（其中218名绝经前女性，143名绝经后女性）进行横断面调查研究。测定血压、人体测量指标、空腹血糖、血脂水平。MetS诊断根据“全美胆固醇教育计划成人专家治疗组Ⅲ”（National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Panel Treatment Ⅲ,NCEP ATPⅢ）相关标准进行定义。逻辑回归分析用于分析MetS相关因素。

结果:绝经后女性腰围，收缩压，舒张压，以及总胆固醇水平，甘油三酯，低密度脂蛋白，高密度脂蛋白，总胆固醇，空腹血糖水平，较绝经前女性明显升高，差异有统计学意义（p＜0.05）。绝经后女性MetS的发生率（29.63%）要高于绝经前女性（16.97%），差异有统计学意义（p=0.005）。绝经后女性MetS最明显的特征为中心性肥胖（58.74%），其次为高血压（58.04%），高甘油三脂（27.97%），低高密度脂蛋白水平（23.08%），高空腹血糖水平(11.19%)。多变量分析表明年龄以及体重指数（Body mass index,BMI）高增加MetS的发生风险。

结论:绝经后女性MetS的患病率高于绝经前女性，其中年龄以及BMI是有效的预测指标。

• Cardiovascular disease
• metabolic syndrome
• NCEP ATPIII
• postmenopause
• premenopause

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Dr. Wanida Limmun for assistance with statistical analyses. We feel so grateful for the kind support of the nurses and medical technologists who participated in recruiting participants and data collection. And we also thank Mrs. Dararat Horpet and Miss Thunyalak Plyduang for their kind laboratory assistance.