Published in:
01-06-2012 | Original Article
The impact of socioeconomic status on the incidence of metabolic syndrome in a Taiwanese health screening population
Published in: International Journal of Public Health | Issue 3/2012
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Objectives
The purpose of this study was to estimate the incidence of metabolic syndrome (MS) in a 5-year follow-up adult population in Taiwan who were examined at the Major Health Screening Center, and to assess possible socioeconomic determinants of the syndrome in this sample.
Methods
The longitudinal study included 9,389 adults, aged 35–74 years, who visited the Major Health Screening Center from 1998–2002, and were followed up for 5 years.
Results
The 5-year cumulative incidence of MS in this sample was 11.37%, and the weighted incidence was 12.46%; 14.95% for men and 9.89% for women, respectively. After adjustment for behavioral and habits, family history, gender and age, education level was associated with the incidence of MS. With middle school and lower as a baseline, the incidence of MS for high school, junior college, and college and above was OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.64–1.00; OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.62–1.03 and OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.50–0.83, respectively.
Conclusions
The standardized cumulative incidence of MS was 12.46%. Lower education level was an important socioeconomic determinant of MS in women.