Background: South Asians are the largest ethnic group in the world, yet there are no data on metabolic syndrome (MetS) among ethnic South Asian patients with ischemic stroke. Ethnic differences in the prevalence of MetS are known to exist.
Methods: We studied 126 consecutive ethnic South Asian patients and 126 age-, sex-, and diabetes-matched ethnic Chinese patients admitted with acute ischemic stroke.
Results: The prevalence of MetS among ethnic South Asian patients, at 61%, was significantly higher than among ethnic Chinese patients (47%) (P < .001). Of note, mean high-density lipoprotein was lower among ethnic South Asian compared with ethnic Chinese patients (P = .002).
Conclusion: We describe a high burden of MetS among ethnic South Asian patients, which was significantly greater than that found among ethnic Chinese patients.