Metabolic Syndrome And Generalized Anxiety Disorder Among Young Adult Ghanaians

Abstract

Background: Mental health has been associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in several studies. Negative affective disorders like generalized anxiety disorders (GAD) and depression are common in patients with CVDs. Depression and GAD can be screen in epidemiological studies using simple standardized questionnaires, GAD-7 and patient health quaestionnaire (PHQ)-9. Metabolic syndrome is the clustering of risk factors for CVDs such as obesity, insulin resistance, hyperglycaemia, hypertension and dyslipidaemia in an individual. The presence MetS is a strong predictor of future development of CVDs. The relationship between MetS and GAD has not been reported in the Ghanaian population. This study investigates MetS in young Ghanaian adults and its relationship with GAD and depression. General Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate the association between MetS and GAD as well as depression in young adults. Methodology: The study was a cross-sectional design involving 364 young adults, aged 20- 30 years, and recruited from Jamestown in the Accra Metropolis. The gender composition of the study participants were 174 (47.8%) males and 190 (52.2%) females. The study participants were interviewed using a structured questionnaire for socio-demographic and lifestyle information. GAD-7 and PHQ-9 instruments were used to screen GAD and depression, respectively. Anthropometric indices such as body fat, visceral fat, weight, height, waist and hip circumferences were measured. Blood pressure was measured using semiautomated blood pressure monitor. 10 millilitres of venous blood was collected and analysed for fasting plasma glucose, lipids and triglyceride. MetS was defined using the harmonized joint interim statement criteria. Results: The overall prevalence of MetS among the participants was 27.96%, with the female participants showing a higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome as compared to their male counterparts (37.4% vs 18.4%, p<0.001). Compared to the female participants, the male participants had high current alcohol use (33.9% vs 9.5%, p<0.001) as well as high current smoking status (13.2% vs 1.6%, p<0.001). The female participants had higher levels of systolic (119 }13 vs 113 }11, p< 0.001), diastolic (76 }10 vs 74 }8 p=0.002), pulse (76 }10 vs 74 }8, p=0.002) and mean (91 }10 vs 87 }8 p<0.001) as compared to their male counterparts. The prevalence of GAD was 39.6 % in all study participants, with females having more representation in mild anxiety category and males being presented more in moderate anxiety category. MetS was independently associated with mild [odd ratio (OR)=3.16 (1.04 – 9.59), p=0.042] and moderate [OR=1.57 (1.08 – 2.68), p=0.034] in multinominal logistic regression models. No association between depression and MetS was found. Conclusion: There is high prevalence of MetS in our study participants, with more females having MetS compared to males. GAD was also common among young adults and it is independently associated with MetS in the study population.