High prevalence of metabolic syndrome in an elderly Croatian population - a multicentre study.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and characteristics of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in a healthy elderly Croatian population.

Design: Cross-sectional study consisting of a health check including anthropometric measures and food questionnaires as well as analysis of biochemical parameters related to MetS. The diagnostic criteria of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) were used for diagnosis of MetS.

Setting: Four centres in continental (Virovitica and Zagreb) and Adriatic coast (Split and Omiš) regions of Croatia.

Subjects: Free-living elderly persons aged 70-90 years (n 320).

Results: Significantly lower MetS prevalence was found among participants from small urban centres compared with those from large urban centres (59·1 % v. 69·6 %; P = 0·051). Participants without MetS consumed wine more frequently (P = 0·05) than those with MetS. Compared with their peers with HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) <1·03 mmol/l, more male participants with HDL-C ≥1·03 mmol/l consumed wine (P = 0·04) or pelagic fish (P = 0·03). The prevalence of participants with TAG ≥1·7 mmol/l was higher in wine non-consumers (P = 0·05) than in wine consumers. Multivariate analysis with age and gender as covariates showed a significant inverse association of wine consumption with total cholesterol (P < 0·001), a positive association with HDL-C (P < 0·001) and a marginally inverse association with TAG (P = 0·06). In the male population, alkaline phosphatase and γ-glutamyl transferase activities were higher in participants with MetS (P < 0·05).

Conclusions: High MetS prevalence was observed in an elderly Croatian population. Data showed that moderate consumption of wine and/or pelagic fish has a protective role against MetS in the population studied.