THURSDAY, May 21, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- More than one-third of U.S. adults have metabolic syndrome, according to a research letter published in the May 19 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Robert Wong, M.D., of the University of California in San Francisco, and colleagues examined health data on Americans gathered by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between 2003 and 2012. The researchers concluded that 35 percent of all U.S. adults had metabolic syndrome in 2011 to 2012. That number is up slightly from 33 percent in 2003 to 2004, the researchers said.
But the researchers also found that age strongly influences the incidence of metabolic syndrome. About 47 percent of people 60 or older have metabolic syndrome. Only about 18 percent of adults 20 to 39 years old have the condition. Among those over 60, more than 50 percent of women and Hispanics have metabolic syndrome, according to the study.
"That's concerning, because we know the population of the United States is aging," Wong told HealthDay. "I think it will potentially place a huge burden on our health care system."
Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)