Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes in Japan: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study

Recent data on the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) are limited.

This retrospective, cross-sectional, observational study investigated the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in patients with T2D using a Japanese administrative claims database. Patients with a T2D diagnosis, prescription of a hypoglycemic agent, and one or more annual health checkups in 2020 were included. Trends in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome by sex and body mass index (BMI) subgroup were assessed.

The study cohort consisted of 155,653 patients (men, 81.6%; mean age 54.6 ± 8.5 years). Patients with metabolic syndrome had a higher mean BMI (29.1 ± 4.5 kg/m² versus 25.2 ± 4.5 kg/m²) and mean waist circumference (98.3 ± 10.0 cm versus 87.9 ± 11.2 cm) compared to those without metabolic syndrome. Overall, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 43.0% in patients with T2D, with prevalence higher in men (46.6%) than women (27.0%). The prevalence increased across BMI subgroups from 17.3% in the < 25 kg/m² subgroup, to 54.6% and 66.1% in the 25 to < 30 and ≥ 30 kg/m² subgroups, respectively. A greater proportion of patients with metabolic syndrome had cardiovascular or renal comorbidities (BMI < 25, 0.3–2.0%; BMI 25 to < 30, 0.7–6.2%; BMI ≥ 30 kg/m², 0.7–6.8%) and cardiovascular drug usage (BMI < 25, 1.3–9.0%; BMI 25 to < 30, 3.8–31.1%; BMI ≥ 30 kg/m², 3.5–37.0%) in the higher BMI subgroups compared to the BMI < 25 kg/m² subgroup.

The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in Japanese patients with T2D was 43.0% and increased with higher BMI. In patients with T2D and metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular drug usage and comorbidities increased in patients with a higher BMI. These data highlight the importance of managing metabolic parameters in addition to glycemic control in Japanese patients with T2D, particularly in patients with metabolic syndrome and BMI ≥ 25 kg/m².