This study was to identify knowledge, perception and health behavior about metabolic syndrome for an at risk group in a rural community area.

A descriptive cross-sectional survey design was used. A total of 575 adults with hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, and/or abdominal obesity were recruited from 11 rural community health care centers. A questionnaire was developed for this study. Anthropometric measures were measured and blood data was reviewed from the health record.

Knowledge about the metabolic syndrome was low as evidenced by only a 47% correct answer rate. Only 9% of the subjects ever heard about the disease, and 87% answered they do not know the disease at all. 87% of the subjects were not performing regular exercise, 31% drank alcohol more than once a month, 12.5% were current smokers, and 33.6% are did not have a regular health check-up.

Development of systematic public health care programs are needed to prevent future increases in cardiovascular complications and to decrease health care costs. These might include educational programs for the primary health care provider and an at risk group, a therapeutic lifestyle modification program, and a health screening program to identify potential groups.

This study was to analyze the trend of research on intervention for patients with metabolic syndrome.

Using Pubmed, Medline, and CINAHL search engines, a randomized controlled trial(RCT) researching titles such as “metabolic syndrome”, “intervention”, “lifestyle modification”, or “community-based” were collected. A total of 16 researches were analyzed based on the guidelines of the National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel(NCEP-ATP III).

1) The total period of the intervention was from 12 to 24 weeks, the frequency was 3 to 5 times per week, and the duration of each session was from 45 to 60 minutes. The types of intervention included exercise, diet, and medication. Among these types, diet was performed most frequently. 2) The outcomes of the intervention was measured with physical aspects such as anthropometric measures, body composition, or biological markers. No studies have evaluated psychosocial outcomes such as quality of life. 3) In terms of effectiveness of the intervention, anthropometric indicators, body composition, or serological markers showed positive effects, whereas results on endothelial or urine indicators were inconsistent.

Methodological research developing comprehensive therapeutic lifestyle modification programs and intervention studies are needed for patients with metabolic syndrome. In addition, effects should be evaluated with multidimensional perspectives.