Prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the Jackson Heart Study among the highest for population-based cohorts worldwide

The role of the metabolic syndrome in the African-American population has not been fully investigated. This study was aimed to examine the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome as well as its cross-sectional relationship to cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the Jackson Heart Study (JHS) cohort. To this end, a total of 5,302 participants aged ≥21 years were analyzed, patients with diabetes mellitus being excluded from analysis. Among ages 35-84, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 43.3% in women and 32.7% in men. Among patients with metabolic syndrome, the prevalence rate for elevated blood pressure was 70.4%, for abdominal obesity 64.6%, and for low HDL-C 37.2%. After adjusting for age and sex, metabolic syndrome was associated with increased odds ratios for CVD, coronary heart disease (CHD) or cerebrovascular disease (CBD) (OR=1.7 for all three) compared to those without metabolic syndrome. Based on these findings, the authors conclude that the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in the JHS cohort is among the highest reported for population-based cohorts worldwide. Moreover, metabolic syndrome in this non-diabetic cohort appears to be associated with increased odds ratios for CVD, CHD and CBD.

Abstract

Keywords:
Abdominal obesity – Cardiovascular risk – CHD – Elevated blood pressure – HDL-C – Metabolic syndrome – Stroke