Metabolic syndrome and its associated factors in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a common complex entity that has emerged as a worldwide epidemic and major public health concern. The incidence of MetS often parallels the incidence of obesity and it is even worst among people living with comorbidities like; HIV/AIDS, hypertension, and mental illness. Therefore, there was an urgent need to summarize the extent and risk factors of MetS in Ethiopia.
METHODOLOGY: This systematic review was conducted according to the PRISMA guideline to investigate the prevalence of MetS and contributing factors. English language-based databases (PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, EMBASE, and Cochrane library) were exhaustively searched to identify studies related to the prevalence of MetS. A random-effects model was employed to estimate the pooled prevalence of MetS, and it was computed using STATA 16.0 software. Heterogeneity analysis was reported using I2. RESULT: A total of 25 studies with 21,431 study participants were included for this systematic review and meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of MetS was 30.0% (95% CI: 24.0-36.0%, I2 = 99.19%, p < 0.001) with a high degree of heterogeneity across studies. Subgroup analysis with the target population showed that metabolic syndrome was most prevalent among type II diabetic 56% (95% CI: 47 - 64) and hypertensive patients 44% (95% CI: 35 - 53). Increased age, female gender, being overweight and obese, having a high educational level and income, physical inactivity, and being on treatment of chronic diseases like, diabetes mellitus, hypertension and HIV/AIDS were the most frequently reported risk factors of MetS regardless of the study population.
CONCLUSION: The prevalence of the MetS is high and rising in Ethiopia. Therefore, the preventative strategy should be considered to reduce the risk of morbidity or mortality related to metabolic syndrome. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021.