Prevalence and determinants of the metabolic syndrome among Tunisian adults: results of the Transition and Health Impact in North Africa (TAHINA) project.

IRD (Institut de Recherche pour le De´veloppement),UMR 204 NUTRIPASS, IRD-UM1-UM2, Montpellier, FranceSubmitted 25 May 2011: Final revision received 17 April 2012: Accepted 31 May 2012: First published online 13 August 2012AbstractObjective: To determine the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) andits components and to evaluate the relationship between this diagnosis andcardiovascular risk factors, demographic and socio-economic variables.Design: A cross-sectional study using a questionnaire including informationon sociodemographic and CVD risk factors. Blood pressure, anthropometricindices, fasting glucose and lipid profile were measured. MetS was definedaccording to the criteria of the National Cholesterol Education Program, AdultTreatment Panel III.Setting: The whole Tunisian territory; Transition and Health Impact in NorthAfrica (TAHINA) project.Subjects: A total of 4654 individuals (1840 men and 2814 women), aged 35 to74 years, who participated in the Tunisian national survey.Results: The overall prevalence of MetS was 30?0%, higher in women (36?1%)than in men (20?6%;P,0?001). In both genders MetS prevalence increasedsignificantly with age (P,0?001), but this increase was more important inwomen. Multiple regression analyses showed that the odds for MetS increasedsignificantly with urban area for both men and women (P,0?05 and P,0?001,respectively). The multivariate models showed also that the odds for MetSincreased significantly with increasing level of education and in those witha family history of CVD for men (both P,0?05) and after the menopausaltransition for women (P,0?05).Conclusions: The study highlights the MetS problem in a middle-incomedeveloping country. There is an urgent need for a comprehensive, integrated,population-based intervention programme to ameliorate the growing problem ofMetS in Tunisians.KeywordsMetabolic syndromeCVD risk factorsSociodemographic factorsMetabolic syndrome (MetS) is a clustering of abdominalobesity, atherogenic dyslipidaemia, hypertension, insulinresistance and disturbed glucose metabolism that identi-fies individuals at increased risk for type 2 diabetes andprogression of CVD