International Journal of Preventive Medicine (Int J Prev Med)2008-78021122020042022412241ENYazd Cardiovascular Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, YazdYazd Cardiovascular Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, YazdYazd Cardiovascular Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, YazdYazd Cardiovascular Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, YazdDepartment of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden & Department of Epidemiology, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah,Research Unit “Integrated Physiology”, Laboratory of Biochemistry- Human Nutrition, Faculty of Sciences of Bizerte, Carthage University, TunisTisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029 & Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Bologna, BolognaDepartment of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AlbertaBaker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, & Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, MelbourneYazd Cardiovascular Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, YazdStudent Research Committee, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd,Nutrition and Food Security Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd & Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd20200420<p><strong>Background</strong>: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is one of the world’s largest health epidemics, and<br />its management is a major challenge worldwide. The aim of this 10‑year follow‑up study was<br />to assess the most important predictors of MetS persistence among an Iranian adult population.<br /><strong>Methods</strong>: In this cohort study, 887 out of 2000 participants with MetS aged 20–74 years in the<br />central part of Iran were followed‑up for about 10 years from 2005–2006 to 2015–2016. MetS<br />was defined based on the criteria of NCEP‑ATP III adopted for the Iranian population. Cox<br />proportional hazards regression was conducted to evaluate the predictors of MetS persistence<br />in crude‑ and multivariate‑adjusted models.</p><p><strong>Results</strong>: Our analyses showed that 648 out of 887<br />participants (73%) completed the follow‑up and 565 (87.2%) of them had persistence of MetS<br />after 10‑year follow‑up. There was a significant association between age, weight, body mass<br />index, triglyceride, and waist circumference in participants who had MetS compared to those<br />without MetS after 10‑year follow‑up (P &lt; 0.05). There was a direct association between increases<br />in the mean changes of systolic/diastolic blood pressure, waist circumference, and low HDL‑C<br />and risk of MetS persistence after adjusting the model for sex and age in the total population<br />(Ptrend &lt; 0.05). The trends were the same for women except in diastolic blood pressure. After<br />adjustment for potential confounders, the risk of MetS persistence in men was significantly higher<br />than women (HR = 1.98, 95% CI: 1.38–2.85, Ptrend = 0.001).</p><p><strong>Conclusions</strong>: Most of the risk factors<br />of MetS were positively associated with persistence of MetS. Therefore, modification of lifestyle<br />is recommended to reduce MetS.</p><p><strong>Keywords</strong>: Cohort studies, metabolic syndrome, persistence</p>http://ijpm.mui.ac.ir/index.php/ijpm/article/view/2241http://ijpm.mui.ac.ir/index.php/ijpm/article/download/2241/717718033