Sex based pharmacological treatment in patients with metabolic syndrome: Findings from the Isfahan healthy heart program

Pharmacological therapy is a critical step in the management of individuals with the metabolic syndrome (MetS) when lifestyle modifications cannot achieve the therapeutic goals. However, it has been well-documented that there is no single best therapy other than weight loss, and that treatment should be targeted at individual components of the MetS. The objective of this study was to investigate the treatment of individual components of the MetS in a population-based sample of individuals with clustering MetS components. In a cross-sectional population-based survey, we studied a randomly collected sample of men and women who had participated in the baseline survey of a community-based program in three Central Iranian counties in 2000 to 2001. Demographic data, medical status, and drug history were obtained by questionnaire. We evaluated the association between clustering of the MetS components and pharmacological treatment of cardiovascular risk factors. The most common pharmacologic agents prescribed for individuals with the MetS were beta-blockers (72.8%), followed by lipid-lowering agents (36%) with no significant gender difference. A high level of compliance with drug treatment was noted. Further research is warranted to understand the compliance behavior of patients with the MetS.