Prevalence of metabolic syndrome in a sample of population in Erbil city, Iraq

Background and objective: There has been a recent concern about chronic non-communicable diseases in Iraq. The country is undergoing an epidemiological transition with an increasing burden of chronic non-communicable diseases with two-thirds of the people aged 25-65 years old are overweight and one-third are obese. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome with their associated risk factors among a sample of peoples in Erbil city.   Methods: This cross-sectional analytic study was carried out in Erbil city and involved a convenience sample of 566 apparently healthy subjects. A structured direct interview using interviewer administered questionnaire was applied. Anthropometric measures, random blood sugar, cholesterol level, triglyceride level, low-density lipoprotein and high-density lipoprotein were investigated.   Results: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the studied sample was 30.6%. The prevalence was higher in females (45.5%) than males (16.3%). Variables like gender (P <0.001), age (P = 0.008), education and marriage (P = 0.001), family history of diabetes mellitus (P = 0.029), hyperlipidemia (P <0.001), hypertension (P = 0.047) and obesity (P = 0.005) were found to be factors that significantly associated with metabolic syndrome.  Conclusions: Metabolic syndrome is prevalent among the studied population. Female gender, old age, marriage, family history of diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, hypertension and obesity may be regarded as risk factors for metabolic syndrome.