Metabolic syndrome and menopause

BACKGROUND: The metabolic syndrome is defined as an assemblage of risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, and menopause is associated with an increase in metabolic syndrome prevalence. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its components among postmenopausal women in Tehran, Iran. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study in menopause clinic in Tehran, 118 postmenopausal women were investigated. We used the adult treatment panel 3 (ATP3) criteria to classify subjects as having metabolic syndrome. RESULTS: Total prevalence of metabolic syndrome among our subjects was 30.1%. Waist circumference, HDL-cholesterol, fasting blood glucose, diastolic blood pressure ,Systolic blood pressure, and triglyceride were significantly higher among women with metabolic syndrome (P-value<0.05). Our study shows high abdominal obesity and hypertension are the most prevalent components of metabolic syndrome. 15%, 13.3% and 1.8% of subjects had three, four and five criteria for metabolic syndrome, respectively. There was a significant relationship between number of components of metabolic syndrome and waist circumference. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that postmenopausal status is associated with an increased risk of metabolic syndrome. Therefore, to prevent cardiovascular disease there is a need to evaluate metabolic syndrome and its components from the time of the menopause.