Gender Differences in Metabolic Disorder Prevalence Among North China Residents: A Cross-sectional Study

Background : Numerous studies have found sex disparity in the prevalence of metabolic disorders. However, information is lacking on gender difference among residents of north China and little epidemiological data is available on metabolic disorders in North China. Methods : This cross-sectional study involved 2650 randomly selected adult residents of Hebei province, North China. Demographic, biochemical, and physical examination parameters were collected and compared between men and women. Metabolic disorder prevalence was estimated and their associations with baseline characteristics was analyzed by multivariate logistic regression. Results : Our data suggest that the prevalence of metabolic disorders including metabolic syndrome (MetS), diabetes, prediabetes, hypertension, central obesity, and hypertriglyceridemia are significantly higher in men than in women. We find that aging people, overweight or obese people, urban residents, smokers, people with lower education, manual workers, and people with family history of diabetes are at higher risk of metabolic disorders. However, these associations differ between men and women. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that metabolic disorders are an important public health concern and highlights an urgent need for intervention in middle-aged and elderly populations in North China. There are sex-specific associations between multiple risk factors and metabolic disorders.