Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome and Its Associated Factors among Vegetarians in Malaysia

Version 1 : Received: 20 June 2018 / Approved: 20 June 2018 / Online: 20 June 2018 (08:49:24 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Ching, Y.K.; Chin, Y.S.; Appukutty, M.; Gan, W.Y.; Ramanchadran, V.; Chan, Y.M. Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome and Its Associated Factors among Vegetarians in Malaysia. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15, 2031. Ching, Y.K.; Chin, Y.S.; Appukutty, M.; Gan, W.Y.; Ramanchadran, V.; Chan, Y.M. Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome and Its Associated Factors among Vegetarians in Malaysia. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15, 2031.

Abstract

The prevalence and factors associated with metabolic syndrome (MetS) remain unknown in Malaysian vegetarians. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the prevalence of MetS among vegetarians in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor and its associated factors. The data on socio-demographic characteristics, vegetarianism practices, lifestyle behaviours, body weight, height, waist circumference (WC), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), fasting blood glucose (FBG), and blood lipid profiles were collected from 273 vegetarians. A majority of the respondents were lacto-ovo vegetarians (44.0%), females (64.8%) and Chinese (54.9%). The prevalence of MetS was 24.2%. High BP (48.7%) and high WC (43.6%) were the most common MetS components. Females had lower WC, SBP, DBP, FBG, TG and higher HDL-c (p < 0.05) as compared to males. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that advancing in age (OR = 1.03, 95% CI: 1.00-1.06), and overweight and obesity (OR = 7.90, 95% CI: 4.13-15.11) were the risk factors of MetS after adjusted for sex. This study found that one in four vegetarians had MetS. The present findings emphasize the need to focus among vegetarians with older age. An intervention program to reduce BMI should be established among vegetarians, especially among those vegetarians who were overweight and obese.

Keywords

metabolic syndrome; vegetarian; vegetarianism practices; overweight; lifestyle behaviors

Subject

Medicine and Pharmacology, Dietetics and Nutrition

Comments (0)

We encourage comments and feedback from a broad range of readers. See criteria for comments and our Diversity statement.

Leave a public comment
Send a private comment to the author(s)
* All users must log in before leaving a comment
Views 0
Downloads 0
Comments 0
Metrics 0


×
Alerts
Notify me about updates to this article or when a peer-reviewed version is published.
We use cookies on our website to ensure you get the best experience.
Read more about our cookies here.