RESEARCH ARTICLE SA JOURNAL OF DIABETES & VASCULAR DISEASE 4 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 1 • July 2022 Prevalence of the metabolic syndrome among Batswana adults in Gaborone and surrounding villages DAWN TLADI, LUCKY MOKGATLHE, THEO NELL, RONEL MICHELL, SHEILA SHAIBU, COMFORT MOKGOTHU, TEBOGO GABONTHONE, OMPHILE HUBONA, KOTSEDI MONYEKI Correspondence to: Dawn Tladi Comfort Mokgothu, Tebogo Gabonthone, Omphile Hubona Department of Physical Education, Health and Recreation, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana e-mail: tladidm@ub.ac.bw Lucky Mokgatlhe Department of Statistics, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana Theo Nell Department of Physiological Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa Ronel Michell Gaborone Biokinetics, Gaborone, Botswana Sheila Shaibu School of Nursing and Midwifery, Aga Khan University, Nairobi, Kenya S Afr J Diabetes Vasc Dis 2022; 19: 4–9 Abstract Background: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including hypertension, diabetes and obesity, are on the increase in Botswana and yet the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) among the apparently healthy Batswana is unknown. Objective: The study aimed to describe the prevalence of the MetS among apparently healthy Batswana adults. Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive study was used to collect demographic and anthropometric (weight, height, waist and hip circumferences) data, and blood pressure (BP), blood glucose, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and total cholesterol measurements from 800 participants. Results: The prevalence of the MetS was 32.7%, with women mostly afflicted (44.5%). Low HDL-C levels (50%) in women and hypertension (HTN) (50.3%) in men were the most prevalent individual components. Older participants showed a high prevalence (55–65 years; 57.2%), followed by a fairly high prevalence among the younger age group (25–34 years; men 39.0% vs women 26.6%). Conclusion: There was an overall high prevalence of the MetS among the Batswana adults in the study, with women in general and the younger population at high risk for NCDs. Further research is necessary to establish additional risk factors, guidelines, strategic plans and appropriate public health interventions. Keywords: metabolic syndrome, abdominal obesity, blood pressure, blood glucose, blood cholesterol Introduction Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) constitute a major public health challenge affecting socio-economic development. Approximately 85% of premature deaths resulting from cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes occur in low- and middle-income countries.1 CVDs rank highest (~18 million annually) for most NCD deaths, followed by lifestyle-associated cancers (9 million), respiratory diseases (~4 million) and diabetes (1.6 million).1 The metabolic syndrome (MetS) constitutes a group of metabolic-related disorders including abdominal obesity, elevated fasting blood glucose (BG) level, glucose intolerance, dyslipidaemia and hypertension (HTN).2-5 Globally, there has been an increased prevalence of the MetS in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)6 due to urbanisation and the nutritional transition that is linked to lifestyle changes.6,7 The individual risk factors for NCDs that present together as a cluster in individuals increase the risk for the MetS. Populations from developing countries as well as minority and disadvantaged groups are more at risk of developing-lifestyle associated NCDs.8 Evidence shows that NCDs are now a leading cause of death globally, accounting for more deaths than HIV, tuberculosis and malaria combined.9-11 A local study1 reported an increased prevalence in NCDs among the Batswana aged 15 to 69 years old.1 Almost one-third of the population presented as either overweight or obese, and women were more at risk (42.2%) compared to men (19.8%). Furthermore, the prevalence of individual risk factors was almost 30% for HTN, approximately 6% for elevated BG and 11% for elevated total cholesterol (TC) levels. When the overall NCD risk factors were combined, almost 73.1% presented with one or two risk factors and 25.7% between three and five risk factors.1 To date and to our knowledge, no study has documented the prevalence of these disease risk factors congregating as the MetS in the apparently healthy Batswana population. Existing evidence has only documented the prevalence of the MetS in small selected populations. Surprisingly, Garrido et al.12 reported a high prevalence of the MetS and obesity among healthcare workers at the Kanye Adventist Hospital in Botswana. Similarly, Omech et al.13 recently reported a high prevalence of the MetS in two Botswana general medical out-patient clinics of Princess Marina Hospital and Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital. Providing scientific evidence will guide the development and implementation of educational and physical activity intervention programmes aiming to lower the MetS epidemic. The current study aimed to describe the prevalence and most prevalent risk factors of the MetS among Batswana adults aged 25 to 69 years in Gaborone and surrounding villages.
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