Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity among workers at Kanye Seventh Day Adventist Hospital, Botswana

Abstract

Introduction: Metabolic syndrome and obesity are risk factors for developing type II diabetes mellitus and/or cardiovascular disease, especially stroke. There is evidence worldwide of the high prevalence of these pathologies in health care providers.
Objectives: To determine the frequency of metabolic syndrome, overweight, obesity and risk of developing metabolic syndrome in workers of Kanye Seventh Day Adventist Hospital, Botswana.
Methods: Observational and cross-sectional study. For the detection of metabolic syndrome the criteria of the Adult Treatment Panel III was used, and for obesity the body mass index of 150 workers was applied. Data was grouped and analyzed according to gender, age and type of work.
Results: 34% of the hospital workers had metabolic syndrome; the same percentage were at high risk of developing metabolic syndrome;, 28.7% had obesity and 27.3% were overweight. A strong association between obesity and metabolic syndrome with female gender was found. The age group between 35 and 54 years was the most affected.
Conclusions: There is a high prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome among Kanye Adventist Hospital workers. We recommend the incorporation of programs that seek to screen these risk factors as routine medical exams and improve the lifestyle of the health care workers of Botswana. The study findings could be the basis for future research in hospital staff and the general population.