Prevalence and associated factors of metabolic syndrome in Buddhist monks at Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province, Thailand

Abstract

Metabolic syndrome increase risk of cardiovascular diseases. The purposes of this study were to investigate the prevalence and associated factors of metabolic syndrome among Buddhist monks in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province. Data were collected from 895 Buddhist monks who underwent an annual health check-up. Information about history taking, physical examination and laboratory testing was diagnosed for metabolic syndrome based on International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistic, tested the association by using Chi-square and logistic regression at 95% confidence interval (p<0.05). The prevalence of metabolic syndrome among Buddhist monks recruited in this study was 13.0%, This study showed that there was an association between the subjects ordained (OR=2.0, 95%CI=1.30-3.20, p=0.001) and smoking (OR=0.5, 95%CI=0.38-0.84, p=0.005) with the metabolic syndrome. Whereas the concomitant abnormal findings of metabolic
syndrome were a low level of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and high level of fasting plasma glucose (FPG). The finding suggests that the monks who had been ordained over 15 years should be health surveillance and smoking reduction because they are high risk group for metabolic syndrome.