Evaluation of the knowledge and consciousness levels of the metabolic syndrome of the 18-65 years old who applied to the family medicine outpatient clinic

Metabolic Syndrome is a syndrome characterized by impaired fasting glycemia, high blood pressure, dyslipidemia and abdominal obesity, which has become a public health problem. It is important to evaluate the diseases it may cause, to provide consultancy services, and to direct the patient to the relevant branch in managing these diseases. It was aimed to evaluate the knowledge and awareness levels of individuals aged 18-65 years who applied to the Family Medicine outpatient clinic about Metabolic Syndrome. Our study was carried out with 384 participants. The questionnaire, which we prepared with the literature to evaluate the sociodemographic characteristics and knowledge and awareness levels of the participants about the metabolic syndrome, was applied by face-to-face interview method and the data obtained from the answers were recorded. IBM SPSS v20 program was used in the analysis and evaluation of the data. The P<0.05 value as a result of the analysis was considered statistically significant. 49.5% of the participants were between the ages of 18-35, 94.5% were university graduates, and 6% had sufficient knowledge about nutrition. The scores obtained from the Knowledge Level questions were between 16.0-36.0, the average was 29.9±6.0, and the knowledge level score of those aged 51 and over, those in other professions, those without a university degree, and those with an income level of 4501-9000 were lower. Those who do not smoke, have sufficient information about healthy eating-life and do not get this information from television, and those who do sports at least a few days a week have higher knowledge level scores. In our study, it was determined that the participants' knowledge levels about Metabolic Syndrome, risk factors and healthy nutrition-life were insufficient. In order to increase awareness, it should be explained that early diagnosis of Metabolic Syndrome and risk factors reduces mortality and morbidity, and the necessity of compliance with treatment should be emphasized. Keywords: Family medicine, metabolic syndrome, level of knowledge, consciousness