Men are more likely to develop metabolic syndrome than women, according to an analysis of the adult population conducted in Sharjah, one of the seven provinces constituting the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The study of 272 people, 165 women and 107 men, focuses on sociodemographic, and anthropometric measurements of the participants. It examines the cluster of symptoms indicative of the syndrome like high blood sugar and raised blood pressure. Other symptoms include abdomen fat and high cholesterol.

The study finds 25% of the population suffering from metabolic syndrome, "which is an alarming rate," says the study's lead author Dr. Sondos Abderraheem Harfil.

The study, published in Hamdan Medical Journal, shows the symptoms of metabolic syndrome to be more prevalent in men than women, with the former having 3.08 times greater chance of developing the syndrome than the latter.

The findings are part of an ongoing research collaboration between the UAE's University of Sharjah, and the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).

The authors say their main target is to "investigate the association of age and sex with MetS in a healthy adult population in Sharjah, the UAE" and maintain the disorder to be mainly "characterized by abdominal obesity and is considered a predictive factor for cardiovascular diseases and stroke and may increase the probability of developing these diseases by several folds."

MeTS stands for the metabolic equivalent of task. In metabolism literature, the acronym refers to the working metabolic rate relative to resting metabolic rate. It measures a person's activity and the rate of energy expended per unit of time.

Metabolic syndrome is a significant public health concern in the UAE and the larger oil-rich Gulf region which have shown high prevalence rates of symptoms ranging from 17% in Oman to 40.5% in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to the ATP III and IDF criteria, respectively.

The authors link the preponderance of the symptoms among the population "to dietary patterns, [lack of] physical activity, environmental factors and socio-demographic variables" which they believe to be the main cause for high rates body mass index (BMI), and body fat mass.

However, the study's major finding relates to the sociodemographic context of the population. It reveals gender as being the only variable exerting significant influence on MetS.

The authors' gender-based comparison of anthropometric characteristics shows similar median ages and body mass index (BMI) between males and females. However, other anthropometric measurements are found to be significantly lower in females, except for hip circumference (HC), which was higher in females.

Regarding BCA measurements, males exhibit significantly higher values in all variables except for fat percentage and fat mass, which were higher in females.

The biochemical characteristics analyzed in the study demonstrate that most variants are found to be significantly higher in males, except for HDL levels, which were higher in females.

Three MetS components-high BP, high triglycerides (TG), and high fasting blood sugar (FBS) are also shown to be significantly more prevalent in males than in females.

While the authors hypothesize a difference in metabolic syndrome related to age, they find age-related MetS prevalence statistically not significant. This finding contradicts previous studies on metabolic syndrome.

"The demography of the Sharjah population is dynamic, and there is a need to monitor the alterations of the MetS prevalence and the associated factors accordingly," the authors note.

The researchers urge further exploration of metabolic syndrome through large-scale studies. "The prevalence of MetS is 25% of the population study in Sharjah, and it is considered high, which suggests ongoing follow up studies on a larger scale."