Alarming high prevalence of metabolic syndrome among Jordanian adults

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence and the individual components of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in Jordanian adults.

Methods: In this cross sectional study, 630 adult subjects (308 men and 322 women) aged between 20-70 years were recruited from the clinics at the King Hussein Medical Center. The diagnosis of MetS was made according to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria-2005. Blood samples were collected after 10-12 hours overnight fasting and serum was obtained for biochemical analysis.

Results: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome according to IDF criteria was 51% (46.4% in men and 55.3% in women). Prevalence of increased waist circumference in the total sample was 71.6%, 46% for high blood pressure, 42.4% for elevated fasting blood glucose, 43.5% for low high density lipoprotein, and 50.2% for hypertriglyceridemia.

Conclusion: The prevalence and individual components of MetS in Jordan were high. Screening of MetS is needed at national level to reduce the incidence of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and cardiovascular disease (CVD).