People with metabolic syndrome (MS) are at increased risk of coronary heart disease and other health problems, such as diabetes and stroke. However, there is little previous information on the prevalence and determinants of MS among people with intellectual disabilities (IDs). The present study aimed to examine the prevalence of MS risk factors among institutionalized adults with IDs. We analyzed the annual health check data of 164 institutionalized adults with IDs whose age was ≧20 years in 2009. The measure of MS in the study was the presence of three or more of the following five components: central obesity, elevated blood pressure (BP), elevated fasting glucose (FG), elevated triglycerides (TG), and reduced high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C). The prevalence of MS was 11.6% in the study participants (8% in males and 17.2% in females), which is lower than that in the general population of Taiwan. In the logistic regression analysis of the occurrence of MS, we found that gender, TG and HDL-C were variables that could significantly predict MS after controlling for other potential factors. Adults with IDs who were female (OR = 38.354, 95% CI = 1.985–741.029) and who had higher TG levels (OR = 1.043, 95% CI = 1.008–1.079) and reduced HDL-C levels (OR = 0.696, 95% CI = 0.549–0.883) had a statistically higher risk of MS. This study was one of the first to provide information on the prevalence of MS and its risk factors among institutionalized adults with IDs. We suggest that further study should focus on the specifics of MS, such as incidence, age-specific risk factors and further prevention or treatment in people with ID.
Many studies have shown that persons with intellectual disabilities (IDs) are more likely than the rest of the population to have physical disabilities, mental health problems, hearing impairments, vision impairments and communication disorders (Lin et al., 2005, Lin et al., 2007a, Lin et al., 2007b, Ouellette-Kuntz et al., 2005 and van Schrojenstein Lantman-De Valk et al., 2000). Individuals with IDs are also more likely to have ill-health risk factors than the general population and to require more attention in health care systems (Hsu et al., 2009, Lin et al., 2004b, Lin et al., 2009a, Lin et al., 2009b, Lin et al., 2010a, Lin et al., 2010b, Lin et al., 2010c, Yen and Lin, 2010 and Yen et al., 2009). However, due to long-term neglect in the health care policy for persons with IDs, the quality of care available to them is low (Lin et al., 2004a and Lin et al., 2004c).
Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a group of conditions that place people at risk for chronic diseases. The occurrence of MS is defined by the presence of three or more of the following abnormalities: abdominal obesity (waist circumference: men > 102 cm, women > 88 cm); serum triglycerides level of at least 150 mg/dL; high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level (men < 40 mg/dL, women < 50 mg/dL); blood pressure of ≧130/85 mmHg and fasting glucose ≧110 mg/dL (National Institutes of Health, 2002). Ford, Giles, and Dietz's (2002) estimation of the prevalence of the MS in a representative sample of US adults showed that MS is highly prevalent. The unadjusted and age-adjusted prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 21.8% and 23.7%, respectively. The prevalence increased from 6.7% among participants aged 20 through 29 years to 43.5% and 42.0% for participants aged 60–69 years and at least 70 years, respectively.
Sivakumar (2007) pointed out the relationship between metabolic syndrome and ID and recommended screening and management of metabolic syndrome in this population. However, there is little information to present the prevalence and determinants of MS among people with IDs in the previous studies. The present study aims to examine the prevalence and risk factors of MS among institutionalized adults with IDs.
