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. 2008 Jun;98(6):1122-7.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2007.120055. Epub 2008 Apr 29.

The prevalence of metabolic syndrome among US women of childbearing age

Rosemarie G Ramos  1 , Kenneth Olden
Affiliations

The prevalence of metabolic syndrome among US women of childbearing age

Rosemarie G Ramos et al. Am J Public Health. 2008 Jun.

Abstract

Objectives: We sought to determine whether the prevalence of metabolic syndrome among US women of childbearing age (18-44 years) has increased since 1988 and to estimate its current prevalence by race/ethnicity and risk that a maternal history of select metabolic syndrome characteristics imposes on offspring.

Methods: We used survey-specific data analysis methods to examine data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys conducted from 1988 to 2004.

Results: The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome phenotype and 2 of its clinical correlates significantly increased between 1988 and 2004 (increase for metabolic syndrome phenotype=7.6%, for obesity=13.3%, and for elevated C-reactive protein=10.6%; P < .001 for all 3). Hispanic women were more likely than were White women to possess the phenotype (P = .004). Women who reported that their mothers had been diagnosed with diabetes were more likely to possess the phenotype than those whose mothers had not been so diagnosed (odds ratio=1.9; 95% confidence interval=1.3, 2.8).

Conclusions: The current trends of metabolic syndrome among women of childbearing age demonstrate the need for additional rigorous investigations regarding its long-term effects in these women and their offspring.

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