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Lower BMI cutoff for assessing the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in Thai population

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Abstract

This article investigates the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) and the benefits of lowered body mass index (BMI) cutoff point for assessing MS prevalence in a large, nationally representative population sample comprising of 15,365 Thai adults from metropolitan Bangkok who received annual checkup. Prevalence of MS was characterized using the International Diabetes Federation criteria and BMI ≥25 kg/m2 as cutoff revealed that 26.63% of male and 14.90% of female subjects had MS and the prevalence was age dependent. Traditional BMI cutoff of ≥30 kg/m2 underestimated MS prevalence in Thai population while BMI ≥25 kg/m2 was found to be a suitable solution. Common combinations of MS components were identified in order to find common occurrences that may be implicated in the development of diabetes and/or cardiovascular diseases.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Mobile Health Unit and the Center of Medical Laboratory Services of the Faculty of Medical Technology, Mahidol University for the data set used in this study. We gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Integrative Research Networking for The Improvement of Health and Quality of Life in Thachin-Maeklong River Basin, annual budget grant of Mahidol University (2551-2555) and Young Scholars Research Fellowship from The Thailand Research Fund to C·N. (Grant No. MRG5080450). A.W. is also grateful for a scholarship from the Royal Golden Jubilee Ph.D. program of the Thailand Research Fund under supervision of V.P.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Microbiology, Faculty of Medical Technology, Mahidol University, Bangkok, 10700, Thailand

    Apilak Worachartcheewan, Chanin Nantasenamat, Chartchalerm Isarankura-Na-Ayudhya & Virapong Prachayasittikul

  2. Center of Medical Laboratory Services, Faculty of Medical Technology, Mahidol University, Bangkok, 10700, Thailand

    Phannee Pidetcha

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  1. Apilak Worachartcheewan
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  2. Chanin Nantasenamat
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Correspondence to Virapong Prachayasittikul.

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Worachartcheewan, A., Nantasenamat, C., Isarankura-Na-Ayudhya, C. et al. Lower BMI cutoff for assessing the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in Thai population. Acta Diabetol 47 (Suppl 1), 91–96 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00592-009-0137-0

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