Prevalence of metabolic syndrome among undergraduate students in University of Nigeria, Nsukka

Abstract

Summary: Elevation of serum uric acid (SUA) is linked with the development of certain disease conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, chronic kidney disease, stroke, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome (MS). Although limited information exists to prove its association, a good number of studies and clinical trials support its role. This study investigate the relationship between MS and SUA of the undergraduate students of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, fasting blood sugar (FBS), serum lipid profile, and SUA concentrations of 229 students comprising of 89 males and 140 females were determined following standard procedures with little modifications where necessary. Result reveals that body weight, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), FBS, low density lipoprotein (LDL), total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein (HDL), triacylglycerol (TAG) and serum uric acid concentration had no significant difference between the age groups while height, pulse, waist, and BMI had significant (p < 0.05) difference between the age groups. The SUA correlates positively with sex (r = 0.650, p < 0.01), SBP (r = 0.250, p < 0.01), TC (r = 0.205, p < 0.01) and triacylglycerol (r = 0.550, p < 0.01). The result of this study demonstrates that an increase in SUA concentration may lead to a concomitant increase in blood pressure, total cholesterol, and triacylglycerol which in turn may predispose the subjects to MS within the different age groups as revealed by our data.

Keywords

• Serum uric acid
• Metabolic syndrome
• Lipid profile
• Fasting blood sugar
• Blood pressure
• Hypertension