Background: Some reports show that the prevalence of metabolic syndrome is higher in poorly educated women. In our opinion, one probable reason for this is that these women experience more stressful events in their lives. We investigated the association between major stressful life events and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and the effect of education on this relationship in women.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 35- to 55-year-old women who were first-degree relatives of type 2 diabetics. They were questioned about stressful events in their lives, their physical activities, and basic characteristics. In addition waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting blood sugar, triglyceride, total and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were measured. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) criteria, and the number of stresses was compared between two groups of participants with and without metabolic syndrome.

Results: Among the 351 study participants, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 28.9%. The mean number of stresses in the metabolic syndrome group was higher than in the nonmetabolic syndrome group at 3.82 ± 2.67 and 3.14 ± 2.35, respectively (P = 0.036). The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in subjects with eight or more stressful life events (46%) was greater compared to those who had experienced less than eight stresses (23.4%; P = 0.017). The relationship between stressful life events and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was independent of the low level of education, but the prevalence of poorly educated women was associated with the number of stresses.

Conclusion: Considering the probable association between stress and prevalence of metabolic syndrome, which itself increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, educating high-risk people to cope with stresses may be beneficial in reducing the incidence of cardiovascular diseases and preventing the onset of metabolic syndrome.