Prevalence of metabolic syndrome, its continuous severity score, and correlated cardiovascular risk among postmenopausal women of a rural area of Bangladesh

Background: In Bangladesh, very few studies evaluated metabolic syndrome (MetS) among postmenopausal women (PMW) in a rural setting. Again, none of these studies used and tested the proposed continuous MetS score. Therefore, the objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of MetS among PMW and evaluate the correlation of its severity score with the absolute risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) over the next 10-years. Methods: From a rural primary health care center, we recruited 265 PMW of 40-70 years of age who had no CVD. The MetS was defined according to modified Adult Treatment Panel III criteria and the continuous MetS severity score was constructed using a standardized Z-score for each component (high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, lipid accumulation product and diastolic blood pressure) by regressing them onto the age. CVD risk was assessed using the lab-based Globorisk score. Results: About 35.1% of the PMW had MetS and the proportion of central obesity, generalized obesity, physical inactivity, diabetes, and hypertension were higher among those with MetS than those without. A highly significant CVD risk score difference (U=4594.50, P<0.001) was observed between the subjects with and without MetS. Similarly, CVD risk showed a significant linear correlation (P<0.001) with the MetS severity score, which was adjusted for daily physical activity metabolic equivalent of task, body mass index and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Conclusion: We found that one-third of PMW in a selected rural area of Bangladesh had MetS and a significant correlation of its severity score with CVD risk. A large-scale study is warranted to confirm the current findings with more precision. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Journal 2023;16(3): 133-138