Metabolic Disorders Increase the Risk to Incident Cardiovascular Disease in Middle-aged and Elderly Chinese

Objective The association of metabolic syndrome (MetS) with cardiovascular diseases (CVD) has not been adequately explored in middle-aged and elderly Chinese.This study aimed to investigate MetS’ prevalence and its impact on the CVD incidence in this specific population group.Methods A data set of a community-based prospective cohort study was analyzed.A total of 2300 subjects aged 40-94 years were followed up for the CVD events.MetS defined according to the JCDCG criteria was assessed at baseline,and the middle-aged and elderly groups were classified by the WHO definition.Results As compared with the middle-aged group,the prevalence of MetS increased by 0.6 times (34.6% vs.21.3%) and the incidence density of CVD increased by 4.9 times in the elderly group (52.3/1000 person-year vs.8.9/1000 person-year).Furthermore,the multivariate Cox regression revealed that the risk to CVD incidence was independently related to increased waist circumference in the middle-aged group (HR=2.23,P<0.01) and to elevated blood glucose in the elderly group (HR=1.39,P<0.01).Conclusion MetS was highly prevalent in middle-aged and elderly Chinese.MetS significantly increased the risk to CVD incidence in the elderly.All individuals with metabolic disorders should receive active clinical care to reduce the incidence of CVD.