Abstract

Objective: To assess the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in premenopausal and postmenopausal women in Southern Thailand. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 361 healthy women (218 premenopausal women and 143 postmenopausal women) in Southern Thailand. Blood pressure, anthropometric indices, fasting plasma glucose and serum lipid levels were measured. MetS was defined according to criteria of the "National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Panel Treatment III" (NCEP ATPIII). Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate factors associated with MetS. Results: Waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and levels of total cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) were significantly higher in postmenopausal women, when compared with premenopausal women (p<0.05). The prevalence of MetS in postmenopausal women (29.37%), was significantly higher than that of premenopausal women (16.97%) (p=0.005). The most frequent component of MetS in postmenopausal women was central obesity (58.74%), followed by hypertension (58.04%), high triglyceride (27.97%), low HDL-C (23.08%), and high FPG (11.19%). Multivariate analysis revealed that age and higher body mass index (BMI) increased the risk of developing MetS. Conclusion: The prevalence of MetS is higher in postmenopausal women than in premenopausal women, and its significant predictors include age and BMI. © 2014 Informa UK Ltd. All rights reserved: reproduction in whole or part not permitted.