Metabolic syndrome and short stature in adults from the metropolitan area of Sao Paulo city (SP, Brazil)

The undernutrition has been appointed as a risk factor to cause chronic diseases in later life. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its relationship to short stature, as evidence of stunting in early life in adults. It is a cross-sectional study of adult population (age 20 to 64 years old) living in the metropolitan area of Sao Paulo city (SP, Brazil). The sample comprehended a total of 287 individuals, 214 (74.6%) were women and 73 (25.4%) were men. The anthropometric, clinical and biochemical data were collected through the physical exam and the fast blood after 8 hours. The standard prevalence for sex and age to metabolic syndrome was 34.0% and the short stature was 29.0%. In multiple logistic regression analyses the metabolic syndrome showed to be associated to short stature adjusted by sex, age, education, income, smoking, alcohol consumption, family history of coronary disease, hypertension, diabetes and body mass index. In this study was demonstrated association between metabolic syndrome and short stature in adults.