Factors associated with metabolic syndrome among the elderly in the northeast of Brazil

Abstract Objective: To determine the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) and associated factors in 348 elderly residents of Campina Grande, Paraíba. Method: A household survey and clinical/laboratory assessment was conducted. The diagnosis of MS was based on the criteria of the Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program Expert Panel on the Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (NCEP-ATP III). The association between MS and socio-demographic factors, health status and lifestyle habits was investigated. The crude and adjusted prevalence ratios were obtained by Poisson regression. Variables with a significance lower than or equal to 0.2 (20%) were tested in a multivariate model. A p value≤0.05 was adopted for the acceptance of the associations in the final model. Results: MS was more prevalent among women (64.7%) and those with heart trouble. It was also found that, specifically for women, there was a higher prevalence of MS among those with osteoarthritis. Conclusion: The higher prevalence of MS among women and the association of MS with osteoarthritis in this group deserves attention, as this condition can cause functional limitation, affecting the quality of life of the elderly.摘要 研究目的：明确帕拉伊巴州坎皮纳格兰德市348名老年居民的代谢综合征（metabolic syndrome，MS）患病率及其相关影响因素。 研究方法：本研究采用入户调查联合临床与实验室检查的方式开展。代谢综合征的诊断依据《美国国家胆固醇教育计划成人血脂异常检测、评估与治疗专家委员会第三次报告（NCEP-ATP Ⅲ）》制定的标准。本研究分析了代谢综合征与社会人口学因素、健康状况及生活方式习惯之间的关联，通过泊松回归计算粗患病率比与校正患病率比。将显著性水平≤0.2（20%）的变量纳入多因素模型进行检验，最终模型中关联的显著性判定标准为P值≤0.05。 研究结果：代谢综合征在女性群体中患病率更高（64.7%），合并心脏疾病的老年居民患病率亦更高。此外，针对女性亚组的分析显示，合并骨关节炎的女性居民代谢综合征患病率显著升高。 研究结论：本研究中女性代谢综合征患病率偏高，且该群体中代谢综合征与骨关节炎存在关联，上述结果值得关注——因骨关节炎可引发功能受限，进而影响老年人群的生活质量。