Metabolic syndrome and chronic disease

Abstract

Introduction: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a combination of risk markers that appear to promote the development of chronic disease. We examined the burden of MetS in Canada through its current and projected association with chronic disease. Methods: We used measures from the Canadian Health Measures Survey 2007-2009 to identify the prevalence of MetS in Canadian adults and examine associations between sociodemographic factors and major chronic diseases. We estimated the projected cumulative incidence of diabetes and percent risk of a fatal cardiovascular event using the Diabetes Population Risk Tool (DPoRT) and Framingham algorithms. Results: After adjusting for age, we found that 14.9% of Canadian adults had MetS. Rates were similar in both sexes, but higher in those who are non-Caucasian or overweight or obese (p