Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome among Professional and Office Workers in Bangkok, Thailand(cid:31)
Vitool Lohsoonthorn MD*, Somrat Lertmaharit MD*, Michelle A Williams MD**
Affiliation : (cid:31) Sources of support for research: Rachadapiseksompoj Faculty of Medicine Research Fund Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, and National Institutes of Health (T37-TW00049; and T37-MD-100449) * Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand ** Department of Epidemiology, Multidisciplinary International Research Training Program, University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA
Objective : To estimate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) among Thai professional and office
workers and to compare the prevalence with other populations.
Materials and Methods : The authors conducted a cross-sectional study of 1,339 professional and office workers
(535 men and 804 women) who participated in the annual health examinations at the Mobile Health Checkup
Unit of King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand during the period of August through
December 2001. MetS was defined using the modified NCEP ATP III criteria. Chi-square tests were used to
evaluate differences in distribution of covariates for affected and unaffected patients.
Results : The prevalence of MetS among Thai professional and office workers was 15.2% and approximately 3
times more common among men than women (25.8% vs. 8.2%). Men and women with MetS were older (p <
0.05) and were less well-educated (p < 0.05) than those without MetS. The three most common metabolic
abnormalities in men were high blood pressure (45.0%), BMI > 25 kg/m2 (40.7%) and hypertriglyceridemia
(38.7%). Among women, high blood pressure (22.8%), BMI > 25 kg/m2 (20.9%) and low HDL-Cholesterol
(18.4%) were the most common metabolic abnormalities noted.
Conclusion : The prevalence of MetS in this cohort of Thai professional and office workers was as high as those
observed in developed countries. These findings emphasize the urgent need to develop strategies for the
detection, treatment, and prevention of MetS. Such efforts will contribute to attenuating the incidence of
cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Keywords : Metabolic syndrome, Prevalence, Thailand
