Author(s)

Ali Khan Khuwaja, Farzana Nawaz Ali, Imama Naqvi, Rasool Bux, Abdul Jabbar, Raheem Hassan Dhanani

Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Department of Community Health Sciences, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Department of Family Medicine and Community Health Sciences, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Department of Family Medicine, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Department of Family Medicine, Aga Khan University, Tanzania, East Africa.
Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MS) is common among people with type 2 diabetes. The purpose of this study was to assess the proportion of MS and its individual components among type 2 diabetic adults, to stratify these by gender and to determine their association with ischemic heart disease (IHD). Method: A cross-sectional multicentre study was conducted in public and private sector clinics in Karachi, Pakistan. A pretested structured questionnaire and medical records were used to collect information from 889 people with type 2 diabetes after informed consent. Chi-square test and odds ratios with 95% CI were used to assess the association of MS, its components and IHD. Adjusted odds ratios were used to evaluate the differences of MS and its components by gender. Results: In all, 70% of the participants had MS. The likelihood of having IHD among those with MS was higher (OR = 3.21; 95%CI = 2.22 - 4.65). Of the individual MS components, obesity conferred the strongest association with IHD (OR = 2.57; 95%CI = 1.91 - 3.43). Multivariate analysis showed an increased proportion of MS among women (AOR = 1.63; 95%CI = 1.18 - 2.24). Of the individual MS components, women had a higher prevalence of obesity (AOR = 4.70; 95%CI = 3.30 - 6.70). Conclusion: A very high burden of MS among type 2 diabetics has been identified in this study. Dedicated interventions are needed to prevent/delay the onset of MS and the associated morbidity and mortality.

Type 2 Diabetes; Metabolic Syndrome; Ischemic Heart Disease; Gender Differences; Developing Country

Khan Khuwaja, A. , Nawaz Ali, F. , Naqvi, I. , Bux, R. , Jabbar, A. and Hassan Dhanani, R. (2012) Metabolic syndrome and its individual components among people with type 2 diabetes: Prevalence, gender differences and its association with ischemic heart disease. Journal of Diabetes Mellitus, 2, 332-337. doi: 10.4236/jdm.2012.23052.