Metabolic syndrome prevalence and cardiovascular disease risk among school teachers

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Educators face a wide range of recognized biological, physical, and other workplace hazards making them more susceptible to increasing the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and associated cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) risks. The current research aimed to evaluate the prevalence of MetS and the likelihood of CVDs among school teachers. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 281 participants chosen from schools in the El-Maadi region of Cairo, Egypt. Socio-demographic, occupational, and medical data were collected. Standard procedures were employed to assess fasting blood glucose (FBG), and lipid profile. Metabolic syndrome was defined using criteria from the International Diabetes Federation (IDF). The 10-year atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk was estimated using the ASCVD risk score estimator as per the 2019 American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association guideline. RESULTS: Metabolic syndrome had an overall prevalence rate of 25.8%. Among the instructors evaluated, 73% had a low 10-year risk of getting CVDs, whereas 3.1% had a high risk. The study identified significant correlations between the prevalence of MetS and many characteristics, including age, marital status, length of job, level of education, smoking, prevalence of diabetes and hypertension, central obesity, measured blood pressure, FBG levels, and dyslipidemia among the participants. CONCLUSIONS: School teachers exhibit a considerable prevalence of MetS and risk of CVDs. Health promotion activities and stress management interventions should be implemented. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2025;38(3):309-323.