Metabolic syndrome in overweight and obese young Palestinian students at An-Najah National University: a cross-sectional study

Publication date: 21 February 2018 Source:The Lancet, Volume 391, Supplement 1 Author(s): Basma R Damiri, Amir Agbar, Saja Al-Khdour, Yousef Arafat Background Metabolic syndrome is one of the main reasons for elevated mortality worldwide. The aim of this study was to characterise and establish sex-adjusted prevalence of metabolic syndrome in young Palestinian adults. Methods This cross-sectional study was done at An-Najah National University in 2014 using International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and modified National Cholesterol Education Program-Third Adult Treatment Panel (NCEP) definitions. Approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board, and written informed consent was obtained from all participants. Findings Of 850 students (352 men, 498 women) aged 18–24 years, 178 (21%) were overweight, and 45 (5%) were obese. 154 students were enrolled in this study (89 [58%] men, 65 [42%] women). 114 [74%] participants were overweight, and 40 [26%] participants were obese. Metabolic syndrome was more prevalent when the IDF definition was used (44 [29%] participants) than when the modified NCEP definition was used (37 [24%] participants; p<0·001), with no differences between men and women (p>0·05). Metabolic syndrome was more prevalent in participants with obesity than in students with overweight according to the IDF definition (16 [40%] vs 29 [25%]) and the modified NCEP definition (14 [35%] vs 23 [20%]). The prevalence of individual metabolic synd...
Source: The Lancet - Category: General Medicine Source Type: research