Metabolic syndrome in Iranian elderly.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to compare Iranian elderly with the middle-aged population in terms of the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its components. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted using the data from the third phase of the Isfahan Healthy Heart Program. Male and female residents of Isfahan over 19 years of age were selected by multistage cluster random sampling. A questionnaire including demographic characteristics, health status, medical history, medications used, as well as waist circumference, weight, height, and systolic and diastolic blood pressures was completed for all participants. Fasting blood samples were obtained from all subjects and examined for fasting blood sugar and lipid profile. T-test and Mann-Whitney test were used for quantitative data and chi-square test was performed for qualitative data. RESULTS: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in individuals aged over 60 years was significantly higher than those under 60 (49.5% vs. 17.5%, respectively; P < 0.001). Metabolic syndrome was also more prevalent among elderly females than in males (59.2% vs. 39.8%, respectively; P < 0.005). Some anthropometric measures such as height, body mass index, abdominal circumference, waist-hip ratio, and waist-to-height ratio were significantly different in men and women below 60 years in comparison with those over 60 years (P < 0.05). Moreover, there were significant differences in most studied parameters between the elderly and non-elderly women (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: This study showed that metabolic syndrome has a relatively high prevalence in Iranian elderly people, especially in elderly women. Therefore, early diagnosis and management of the complication are recommended among this high-risk group to avoid the subsequent complications.

Metabolic syndrome and health-related quality of life in Iranian population.

BACKGROUND: To investigate the association between Metabolic syndrome (MetS) and Health related quality of life (QoL) in Iranian population. METHODS: We used data from the post-intervention phase of Isfahan Healthy Heart Program (IHHP), a community trial for cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention and control. We recruited 9570 healthy adults, aged ≥ 19 years who were randomly selected using multistage random sampling method. World Health Organization QoL questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF) which contains 26 items was used to assess QoL. It assesses four domains of QoL; Physical health, Psychological health, Social relationship and Environmental issues. MetS was defined based on ATP III criteria. RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 38.8±15.6 years (mean ± SD) and the prevalence of MetS was 22.5%. From all participant 18.2% were illiterate and 13.2% had university educational level. Two way multivariate analyses of covariance (MANCOVA) test after adjusting age showed significant difference between women with and without Mets in regard to physical health and social relations domains, while none of QoL domains was different in men with Mets in comparison to men without it. CONCLUSIONS: After adjusting the role of socio-demographic factors as components of QoL score, no association was observed between QoL domains and MetS in men, while only social relations and physical health scores were higher in women with Mets compared to those without Mets. Other variety of health-related QoL assessment tools or definitions of MetS may show different relationship in the Iranian socio-cultural context.

The impact of generic form of Clopidogrel on cardiovascular events in patients with coronary artery stent: results of the OPCES study.

BACKGROUND: To compare the early and late cardiovascular events as well as side effects of Osvix, a generic form of Clopidogrel versus Plavix regimens in patients with chronic stable angina, undergoing bare metal stent (BMS) or drug eluting stent (DES) placement, this study was carried out. METHODS: A total of 442 patients with chronic stable angina who were scheduled for elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were included in a randomized, double blind, multi-centric clinical trial being performed in 6 distinct university hospitals in 5 cities of Iran from March 2007 to November 2009. Baseline, demographic and history of risk factors were recorded using the patients' medical charts. Stenting procedure was performed via transfemoral approach using low osmolar contrast agents. Patients underwent BMS or DES placements based on the physician selection and were randomly assigned to Osvix or Plavix groups. Patients were followed by telephone in 0 and 6 months intervals regarding the major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) including death, myocardial infarction, in-stent thrombosis, stroke, target lesion revascularization, and target vascular revascularization. Angina episodes, bleeding, liver enzymes, neutrophils and platelets count were also assessed in these intervals. RESULTS: There was not any significant difference between these two groups regarding the baseline characteristics. In the DES group, the 6-month mortality rate and the incidence of MACE in Osvix and Plavix groups were 0.9% and 1.9% (p = 0.61) and 1.8% and 4.9% (p = 0.26), respectively. During the follow up period after DES or BMS placement, there wasn't any significant difference regarding neutrophil and platelet counts or liver enzymes between study groups. CONCLUSIONS: Using Osvix and Plavix are followed by similar major cardiovascular events and side-effect profile in patients undergoing PCI.

Gender differences in obesogenic behaviour, socioeconomic and metabolic factors in a population-based sample of Iranians: the IHHP study.

This study investigated the gender differences in association of some behavioural and socioeconomic factors with obesity indices in a population-based sample of 12,514 Iranian adults. The mean body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were significantly higher in women than in men. Current and passive smoking had an inverse association with BMI among males whereas current smoking, transportation by a private car, and longer duration of watching television (TV) had a positive association with BMI among females. Current and passive smoking, cycling, and Global Dietary Index (GDI) had an inverse association with WC among males. Higher consumption of fruits and vegetables, current and passive smoking, duration of daily sleep, and GDI had an inverse association with WC among females. Using a private car for transportation had a significant positive association with WHR among both males and females. Living in an urban area, being married, and having a higher education level increased the odds ratio of obesity among both the genders. Non-manual work also increased this risk among males whereas watching TV and current smoking increased this risk among females. Such gender differences should be considered for culturally-appropriate interventional strategies to be implemented at the population level for tackling obesity and associated cardiometabolic risk factors.

The association of smoking with components of the metabolic syndrome in non-diabetic patients.

INTRODUCTION: There is limited evidence about the association between smoking and metabolic syndrome (MS). The aim of this study was to assess the association of smoking with MS components. MATERIALS AND METHODS: As part of the baseline survey of a community-based study, we studied 5,573 non-diabetic men. All participants were interviewed and underwent physical examinations and blood collection. RESULTS: The study participants comprised 1,625 smokers and 3,948 non-smokers, with a mean age of 38.07 +/- 14.85 years. Serum low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglycerides (TG) were higher in smokers than in non-smokers (LDLC: 115.34 +/- 39.03 vs 112.65 +/- 40.94 mg/dL, respectively, P = 0.015 and TG: 175.13 +/- 102.05 vs 172.32 +/- 116.83 mg/dL, respectively, P = 0.005). Body mass index, waist circumference and waist-hip ratio were lower in smokers than in non-smokers. Mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures were significantly lower in smokers than in non-smokers (systolic: 112.06 +/- 15.888 vs 117.25 +/- 17.745 mmHg, respectively, P = 0.000; diastolic: 73.66 +/- 10.084 vs 76.23 +/- 10.458 mmHg, respectively, P = 0.000). The percentage of individuals with 2 MS components was higher in smokers than in non-smokers (39.64% vs 33.00%, respectively, P = 0.000). However, the percentage of non-smokers with 3 MS components was higher than in smokers (49.62 % vs 43.82%, respectively, P = 0.000). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the hypothesis that lifestyle factors such as smoking can adversely affect MS components. However, we should acknowledge that these differences may have resulted from the large sample sizes studied and may not be clinically significant. The lower prevalence of some MS components in smokers than in nonsmokers might be because of their lower anthropometric measures.