October 2014 Vol. 2 No. 10

Search Pubmed for articles by:
 

Original Research Article

Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome among Health Care Providers

F. Ahmed^*1, MBChB, FIBMS , Saleem S. Qader² and Bashdar M. Hussen³
 

¹Trainees Affairs, Kurdistan Board for Medical Specialties, Erbil, Iraq
^2,3Medical Research Center, Hawler Medical University, Erbil, Iraq

*Corresponding Author's E-mail: halmaxa@yahoo.com; trainee@kbms.org; Tel: 009647504529694

Accepted October 21, 2014

Abstract

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of risk factors that happen together and acts as a predictor of diabetes mellitus (DM) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). We wanted to study the prevalence of MetS among health care providers in Erbil City.314 healthcare providers were recruited in the study. Special questionnaire was designed for the study. History taking and physical examination were performed by well-trained clinician and paramedics. MetS was defined according to IDF classification. 38.5% were male, and the mean age was 37 years.31.5% were obese. 23.2% were Medical Institute graduates and 37.3% university graduates.92% were living in urban area.21.7% have family history of DM and 24% with family history of CVDs. The mean age for MetS was 40 years. Sex, education, occupation, Smoking, fatty food, marriage, family history of DM and CVDs were strongly associated with MetS while residency was not associated with prevalence of MetS. Statistical Processes for Social Sciences (SPSS, version-20) were used for analysis of the data. MetS is highly prevalent in our health care providers due to high prevalence of obesity, smoking and fatty diet, and low education and awareness about the condition.

Keywords: Cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, metabolic syndrome, obesity