Metabolic Syndrome in Fasting and Non-Fasting Participants: The UAE Healthy Future Study

Fatima Mezhal (), Amar Ahmad, Abdishakur Abdulle, Andrea Leinberger-Jabari, Abderrahim Oulhaj, Abdulla AlJunaibi, Abdulla Alnaeemi, Ayesha S. Al Dhaheri, Eiman AlZaabi, Fatma Al-Maskari, Fatme AlAnouti, Habiba Alsafar, Juma Alkaabi, Laila Abdel Wareth, Mai Aljaber, Marina Kazim, Manal Alblooshi, Mohammad Al-Houqani, Mohammad Hag Ali, Naima Oumeziane, Omar El-Shahawy, Rami H. Al-Rifai, Scott Sherman, Syed M. Shah, Tom Loney, Wael Almahmeed, Youssef Idaghdour, Luai A. Ahmed and Raghib Ali
Additional contact information
Fatima Mezhal: Public Health Research Center, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi 129188, United Arab Emirates
Amar Ahmad: Public Health Research Center, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi 129188, United Arab Emirates
Abdishakur Abdulle: Public Health Research Center, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi 129188, United Arab Emirates
Andrea Leinberger-Jabari: Public Health Research Center, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi 129188, United Arab Emirates
Abderrahim Oulhaj: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi 127788, United Arab Emirates
Abdulla AlJunaibi: Department of Pediatrics, Zayed Military Hospital, Abu Dhabi 72763, United Arab Emirates
Abdulla Alnaeemi: Department of Cardiology, Zayed Military Hospital, Abu Dhabi 72763, United Arab Emirates
Ayesha S. Al Dhaheri: Department of Nutrition and Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, UAE University, Al-Ain 15551, United Arab Emirates
Eiman AlZaabi: Department of Pathology, Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City, Abu Dhabi 11001, United Arab Emirates
Fatma Al-Maskari: Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, UAE University, Al-Ain 15551, United Arab Emirates
Fatme AlAnouti: College of Natural and Health Sciences, Zayed University, Abu Dhabi 144534, United Arab Emirates
Habiba Alsafar: Center for Biotechnology, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi 127788, United Arab Emirates
Juma Alkaabi: Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, UAE University, Al-Ain 15551, United Arab Emirates
Laila Abdel Wareth: Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Institute, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi 112412, United Arab Emirates
Mai Aljaber: Healthpoint Hospital, Abu Dhabi 112308, United Arab Emirates
Marina Kazim: Abu Dhabi Blood Bank Services, SEHA, Abu Dhabi 109090, United Arab Emirates
Manal Alblooshi: Public Health Research Center, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi 129188, United Arab Emirates
Mohammad Al-Houqani: Department of Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, UAE University, Al-Ain 15551, United Arab Emirates
Mohammad Hag Ali: Department of Health Science, Higher Colleges of Technology, Abu Dhabi 25026, United Arab Emirates
Naima Oumeziane: Abu Dhabi Blood Bank Services, SEHA, Abu Dhabi 109090, United Arab Emirates
Omar El-Shahawy: Department of Population Health, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10595, USA
Rami H. Al-Rifai: Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, UAE University, Al-Ain 15551, United Arab Emirates
Scott Sherman: Department of Population Health, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10595, USA
Syed M. Shah: Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, UAE University, Al-Ain 15551, United Arab Emirates
Tom Loney: College of Medicine, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai 505055, United Arab Emirates
Wael Almahmeed: Heart and Vascular Institute, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi 112412, United Arab Emirates
Youssef Idaghdour: Public Health Research Center, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi 129188, United Arab Emirates
Luai A. Ahmed: Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, UAE University, Al-Ain 15551, United Arab Emirates
Raghib Ali: Public Health Research Center, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi 129188, United Arab Emirates

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 21, 1-13

Abstract: Introduction: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a multiplex of risk factors that predispose people to the development of diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD), two of the major non-communicable diseases that contribute to mortality in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). MetS guidelines require the testing of fasting samples, but there are evidence-based suggestions that non-fasting samples are also reliable for CVD-related screening measures. In this study, we aimed to estimate MetS and its components in a sample of young Emiratis using HbA1c as another glycemic marker. We also aimed to estimate the associations of some known CVD risk factors with MetS in our population. Methods: The study was based on a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data of 5161 participants from the UAE Healthy Future Study (UAEHFS). MetS was identified using the NCEP ATP III criteria, with the addition of HbA1c as another glycemic indicator. Fasting blood glucose (FBG) and HbA1c were used either individually or combined to identify the glycemic component of MetS, based on the fasting status. Multivariate regression analysis was used to test for associations of selected social and behavioral factors with MetS. Results: Our sample included 3196 men and 1965 women below the age of 40 years. Only about 21% of the sample were fasting at the time of recruitment. The age-adjusted prevalence of MetS was estimated as 22.7% in males and 12.5% in females. MetS prevalence was not statistically different after substituting FBG by HbA1c in the fasting groups ( p > 0.05). Age, increased body mass index (BMI), and family history of any metabolic abnormality and/or heart disease were consistently strongly associated with MetS. Conclusion: MetS is highly prevalent in our sample of young Emirati adults. Our data showed that HbA1c may be an acceptable tool to test for the glycemic component of MetS in non-fasting samples. We found that the most relevant risk factors for predicting the prevalence of MetS were age, BMI, and family history.

Keywords: metabolic syndrome; central obesity; diabetes; hypertension; dyslipidemia; United Arab Emirates (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/21/13757/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/21/13757/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:21:p:13757-:d:950685

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().