Abstract
Objective
To investigate the prevalence of metabolic morbidity (MM) amongst prison inmates.
Design
Multicentric, cross-sectional observational study.
Setting
All (nine) prisons in Catalonia.
Participants
Convicted inmates that are not in an «open regime», whose healthcare relies on the Prison Primary Care Teams.
Interventions
MM was defined as the presence of at least one component of the metabolic syndrome, i.e., obesity, arterial hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and/or dyslipidemia. The variables collected included anthropometric measurements, medical history and laboratory values related to MM. The source of information was the Catalan Primary Healthcare Services Information System (SISAP).
Main measurements
The prevalence of MM, overall and by several participant subcategories, was calculated. To investigate the risk factors associated to a higher prevalence of MM, a multivariable logistic regression analysis was carried out and expressed as adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals.
Results
4338 inmates were studied, of whom 93.9% were male. Mean age was 38.4 years, 51.7% were born in European Union countries, and 6.7% were infected by HIV. The variables associated with a significantly increased risk of presenting MM were older age and HIV infection, whereas certain geographical origins (i.e., non-UE European countries, Maghreb and Sub-Saharan Africa) were associated with lower risk of MM.
Conclusions
In spite of being an overall young population, prison inmates present high rates of MM. Older age, HIV infection and geographic origin appear as the most strongly associated factors with MM in the prison population. MM should be detected early in order to prevent complications. Prevention, screening and treatment of MM ought to be considered a priority in the clinical routine of prison healthcare professionals.
Keywords
Metabolic syndrome; Epidemiology; Prisons
Bibliographic citation
Marco Mouriño A, Rivera-Esteban J, Augustin S, Turu Santigosa E, Pericàs JM. Morbilidad metabólica en la población penitenciaria de Cataluña. Aten Primaria. 2023 jun;55(6):102620.
Audience
Professionals
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https://hdl.handle.net/11351/9432This item appears in following collections
- HVH - Articles científics [2476]
- VHIR - Articles científics [1012]
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