Objective: To assess the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and its risk factors, Mongolian people from Inner Mongolia were studied.
Methods and results: 2536 participants aged 20 years or above from Tongliao city in Inner Mongolia were selected for a cross-sectional study. Lifestyle risk factors, body weight, height, waistline, hipline, fasting plasma glucose, blood lipids, and C-reactive protein (CRP), were investigated in all participants. They were divided into metabolic syndrome and non-metabolic syndrome groups. Risk factors were graded from two to four. The standardized prevalence rate of the metabolic syndrome was 17.1%, lower in men (11.4%) than in women (21.6%) (P < 0.001). In men, with multivariate logistic regression, total cholesterol in the highest grade, hip circumference in the highest grade, waist-to-hip ratio and body mass index were associated with the metabolic syndrome. In women, LDL-cholesterol, C-reactive protein in the highest grade, hip circumference, waist-to-hip ratio and body mass index were associated with the metabolic syndrome. There is no relationship between cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking and metabolic syndrome in men or women.
Conclusion: In Mongolian people of agricultural and pasturing areas in Inner Mongolia, China, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome is higher in women than in men. Hip circumference, waist-to-hip ratio and body mass index are significantly associated with the metabolic syndrome.