Prevalence of Anaemia and Metabolic Syndrome and their Relationship among Postmenopausal Women in Rural West Bengal, India

Introduction: Metabolic Syndrome (MS) is becoming pandemic very fast. Anaemia continues to be one of the most significant public health issues. Anaemia is often found with the presence of MS, though the pathophysiological theory is mostly unclear. Aim: To determine the prevalence of anaemia and MS and also to find out the relation between anaemia and MS and its components among rural postmenopausal women of West Bengal, India. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted among 509 postmenopausal women, selected randomly from 30 villages of Singur block, West Bengal, India. Ethical clearance was obtained and informed written consent was obtained prior to the study. Haemoglobin (Hb), Fasting Blood Glucose (FBG), serum Triglycerides (TG), High Density Lipoprotein-Cholesterol (HDL-C), Blood Pressure (BP) and Waist Circumference (WC) were measured. MS was defined as per International Diabetes Federation (IDF), 2005 (for Asian-Indians) criteria. Spearman's correlation coefficient (rho) was calculated using SPSS software, version 20.0. A p-value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: Prevalence of mild, moderate and severe anaemia among the postmenopausal women was 20.8%, 35.8% and 2.2%, respectively. Prevalence of MS among the studied population was 38.1%. Among the postmenopausal women suffering from anaemia (n=299), 35.1% were having MS. About 60.2%, 30.1%, 36.1%, 38.8% and 61.9% of them had WC=80 cm, FBG=100 mg/dL, TG=150 mg/dL, HDL-C <50 mg/dL and BP = 130/85 mmHg. Statistically significant positive correlation was found between Hb level and MS (rho=0.09, p<0.05), WC (rho=0.11, p<0.05) and systolic blood pressure (rho=0.10, p>0.05). Significant negative correlation was observed between Hb level with FBG (rho=-0.11, p<0.05) and HDL-C (rho=-0.12, p<0.05). Conclusion: High prevalence of anaemia and MS was observed among the postmenopausal women of Singur, West Bengal, India. Significant correlation existed between anaemia and MS as well as most of the components of MS among studied population indicating a possible coexistence of anaemia and MS.