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The prevalence of Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is increasing in sub-Saharan Africa because of rapid demographic and epidemiologic transitions. There are several criteria for diagnosing MetS. This study compared the prevalence of MetS in a rural and urban community in South-west Nigeria using three different definitions.

A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted. Multi-stage sampling method was used to select a rural and urban community from two contiguous states in South-west Nigeria. Five hundred and thirty-five apparently healthy subjects aged 18 years and above were consecutively recruited from selected communities. Rural-urban comparison of prevalence of Metabolic syndrome using the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), National Cholesterol Education Program—Third Adult Treatment Panel (NCEP ATP III) and the Joint Interim Statement (JIS) definitions was done.

The general prevalence of MetS according to the JIS, IDF and NCEP definitions was 23%, 21.7% and 21.1% respectively. The prevalence of MetS was higher in the urban than rural community irrespective of the definition used (28.2% vs 13.7% NCEP, 30.8% vs 12.2% IDF, 33.3% vs 12.2% JIS) (P< .001). MetS prevalence was higher in females using the JIS (15.8% vs 25.7%) (P =.02) and IDF (13.0% vs 24.9%) (P = .003) definitions. The proportion of males and females with MetS was not significantly different using the NCEP ATP III definition (P = .17).

Prevalence of MetS was high in rural and urban communities in South-west Nigeria regardless of the criteria used. The need for public health measures to reduce the …