Allisabanavar Saiyadali, Kalasagond Manovijay, H Chandrashekar, Praveen AN
Background: Alcohol dependence is one of the most common and untreated mental disorder with an increased risk of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. Studies in the past have associated alcohol dependence syndrome (ADS) with metabolic syndrome (MS) but the results remain inconclusive. Hence the study was planned to access the prevalence of MS in ADS patients.
Aim: To study the prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome among the alcohol-dependent patients.
Settings and Design: A cross-sectional study at a tertiary care hospital.
Methods and Materials: 50 alcohol dependence patients attending psychiatry department of Victoria Hospital, Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, aged between 18-55 years were enrolled in the study. A Semi structured proforma for socio demographic data, medical data including treatment details, ICD-10 Criteria For Alcohol Dependence and Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) was prepared. Metabolic Syndrome was diagnosed using NCEP-ATP III criteria.
Statistical analysis: Data was collected and analyzed using descriptive statistics.
Results: The prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome was 14%. Most of the patients were middle-aged, married, hailed from the lower middle class with a rural background. Of the components evaluated for Metabolic Syndrome, it was observed that Systolic blood pressure, Diastolic pressure, Fasting blood sugar, triglycerides and waist circumference were elevated and High density lipoproteins was low.
Conclusion: In the background of increased incidence of cardiovascular risk in patients with ADS, screening this high risk population for metabolic syndrome especially those patients in the ADS who have one or two metabolic abnormalities and to implement effective strategies to halt progress towards a full-blown Metabolic Syndrome in a long run can reduce the cardiovascular mortality.
