Prevalence and Risk Factors of Metabolic Syndrome Among the Elderly in Darbhanga, North Bihar: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: The geriatric population in North Bihar is increasingly vulnerable to metabolic syndrome due to biological ageing and limited healthcare access [1, 4]. This study investigates the prevalence of metabolic disorders, specifically type-2 diabetes, hypertension, and obesity, among the elderly in Darbhanga, India. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 100 geriatric subjects (aged ≥60 years) recruited from urban and semi-urban clusters in Darbhanga using purposive random sampling. Anthropometric measurements (BMI) [15], clinical blood pressure [16], and biochemical parameters (fasting blood glucose [2] and total serum cholesterol) [11] were assessed. Data were analysed using SPSS version 20.0. Results: The study revealed a high prevalence of metabolic dysfunctions: hypertension in 45% of subjects, hypercholesterolemia in 38%, hyperglycemia in 32%, and overweight/obesity in 32% [15]. A significant "diagnosis gap" of 25% was identified, where subjects were unaware of their chronic conditions. Significant positive correlations were observed between advancing age, elevated BMI, and metabolic abnormalities (p<0.05). Conclusion: Metabolic syndrome is highly prevalent yet significantly underdiagnosed among the elderly in Darbhanga [4, 8, 12]. The findings underscore an urgent need for targeted geriatric screening programs and public health interventions in North Bihar [14, 17].