Prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome components in Mexican adults without type 2 diabetes or hypertension.

OBJECTIVE To describe the number of Mexican adults with undiagnosed diabetes and arterial hypertension and their association with obesity. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study included a sub-sample of 6 613 subjects aged 20 years or more who participated in the 2006 National Health and Nutrition Survey (ENSANUT 2006). Subjects with a previous diagnosis of diabetes or hypertension (n=1 861) were excluded. Prevalences and standard errors were estimated, taking into account the complex sample design. RESULTS 6.4 million adults have obesity and undiagnosed impaired fasting glucose. Almost two million more have fasting glucose levels diagnostic for diabetes. As for arterial blood pressure, 5.4 million adults had prehypertension. Another 5.4 million adults had blood pressure levels suggestive of probable hypertension. A total of 21.4 million Mexican adults with obesity had at least one further component of the metabolic syndrome. CONCLUSIONS A large proportion of adults with obesity-related metabolic comorbidities remains undiagnosed in Mexico.