BACKGROUND:
Metabolic syndrome (MetS), a constellation of cardiometabolic risk factors clustering together, affects >47 million US adults and has been independently linked to primary and recurrent stroke risk. Prevalence and trends in MetS among stroke survivors in the United States are unknown.
OBJECTIVES:
To evaluate recent temporal trends in age and sex-specific MetS prevalence among adults with/without stroke in the US.
METHODS:
Prevalence of MetS was assessed among fasting adults ≥35 years who participated in National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys 1999-2010 (n=9,343).
Prevalence estimates were weighted to obtain nationally representative estimates (n=430,371,669). MetS was defined by the 2009 harmonized definition. Stroke was determined by self-report.
RESULTS:
In all groups except men 35-64 years, MetS prevalence was similar among adults with and without stroke in 1999-2002 (Table). MetS prevalence rates were flat from 1999 to 2010 among those without stroke, but increased among stroke survivors, such that up to 80% of men and 86% of women with stroke had MetS, with the greatest rise among the middle-aged. Stroke survivors aged 35-64 years were ~3 times more likely to have MetS than their counterparts without stroke (OR 3.24, 95% CI 1.60-6.55 for men and OR 2.55, 95% CI 1.45-4.50 for women).
DISCUSSION:
Due to a differential rise in MetS in stroke survivors over the last 10 years, as many as 9 out of 10 stroke survivors now have MetS, suggesting that Mets may increasingly be placing people at risk for stroke. Intensified efforts aimed at identifying and treating MetS, especially among middle-aged individuals, may be warranted to avert stroke risk.
Corrigendum to ‘Health Behaviors among Stroke Survivors in the United States: A Propensity Score-Matched Study’ [Journal of Stroke & Cerebrovascular Diseases, Vol. 27, No. 8 (August), 2018: pp 2124–2133]