Magnitude of metabolic syndrome and its components among adult residents of Mekelle city, Northern Ethiopia, community-based cross-sectional study.

Abstract Background: Metabolic Syndrome is becoming a big public health problem in developing countries like Ethiopia. The risk of dying from NCDs in low and lower-middle-income countries is almost two times that in high-income countries. NCDs account for 42% of deaths in Ethiopia. The trend of deaths due to NCD is increasing over time in Ethiopia. The objective of this study was to assess the magnitude of metabolic syndrome and its components among adult residents of Mekelle city. Method: a community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from July to September 2019 among adults aged 20 years and above in Mekelle city. Around 266 study participants were selected using a simple random sampling technique. Sociodemographic, lifestyle, anthropometric measurements, and blood biochemical tests were performed using WHO stepwise technique. Blood glucose and lipid profiles were determined after overnight fasting. The classification of metabolic syndrome was based on the international diabetic federation criteria. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis were done using SPSS version 24. Result: the prevalence of Metabolic syndrome was 21.8%. Elevated waist circumference was the most prevalent metabolic syndrome component followed by hypertriglyceridemia, with a prevalence of 41.7% and 38.0% respectively. The prevalence of the remaining three components of MetS were also 33.8%, 32.7%, 21.4%, and 14.3% for systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, and lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol respectively. Age of 40 years and above, the highest rank of monthly income, blood cholesterol greater than 200mg/dl, waist to height ratio greater than 0.55, and walking at least 10 minutes daily were identified as significant predictors of metabolic syndrome.Conclusion : Adult residents of Mekelle city have a high magnitude of Metabolic syndrome and its components which may aggravate the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. This result emphasizes an urgent need for a public health strategy for preventive, early detection, and management of metabolic syndrome, and its individual components.