The study aimed to assess the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components in southern Kazakhstan.
A total of 965 adults, ages 20–74 y, participated in a cross-sectional study. MetS was defined using National Education Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP), American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (AHA) and International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria. Social variations in the prevalence of components of MetS were assessed using Poisson regression.
Among women, the prevalence of MetS was 17.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] 14.7–21.1), 25.8% (95% CI 22.5–29.1) and 21.8% (95% CI 18.5–25.2) for the NCEP, AHA and IDF criteria, respectively (European standard population). The corresponding data for men were 15.3% (95% CI 10.7–19.9), 26.6% (95% CI 21.2–32.9) and 23.9% (95% CI 18.6–29.2). Abdominal obesity was the most prevalent component of MetS among women (74.3%), followed by hyperglycaemia (26.5%) and diastolic hypertension (25.5%), while for men the three most common components were abdominal obesity (70.7%), systolic hypertension (44.4%) and diastolic hypertension (40.0%). Secondary education was associated with a higher prevalence of abdominal obesity in both men (1.3 [95% CI 1.0–1.6]) and women (1.2 [95% CI 1.1–1.4]). Unmarried men were less likely to be obese (odds ratio 0.5 [95% CI 0.3–0.9]).
The distribution of components of MetS in southern Kazakhstan is different from other parts of the European World Health Organization region and varies across genders.