Abdominal obesity is strongly associated to blood pressure in young Mexicans.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine associations between abdominal obesity (AOb) and the other components of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in young Mexicans in a cross-sectional survey completed during a 4 year period.

METHODS: This cross-sectional study reports on components and prevalence of MetS by using Alberti et al. (16) criteria, as well as association between AOb and elevated blood pressure (BP) of 2,993 Mexican university students, ages 17 to 25 years (66% women) from central and northern Mexico, over a 4-year survey (2010-2013).

RESULTS: The most prevalent MetS components in the total sample were low HDL-C concentration (43.6%) and AOb (41.1%). MetS prevalence was 11.8%, more men than women were classified with MetS (14.3% vs. 10.5%, p < 0.01). BP was the MetS component with the lowest prevalence (8.6%). A strong association between AOb and altered BP with in both men and women was found (OR 4.3, IC95% 2.5-7.4).

CONCLUSIONS: Even BP was the component with the lowest prevalence, AOb was more strongly associated with it. This fact, could explain the prevalence of hypertension among young Mexican adults.