Evaluation of a ‘life reform’ program for the metabolic syndrome in Lima, Peru

Objective: To evaluate the change of metabolic syndrome indicators among workers with premorbid metabolic syndrome (pre-MetS), who fully completed all intervention's activities of the “Life Reform” program, affiliated to five EsSalud's health centers from Lima, between January and December 2015. Design: A cross-sectional, non-concurrent study. Methods: Secondary data was obtained from medical records of 29 companies´ workers (older than 18 years-old) affiliated to five EsSalud's centers in Lima (1 hospital, 3 outpatient clinics, 1 primary care center) who fully completed the 12-weeks “Life Reform” program. Demographic characteristics, blood pressure (systolic and diastolic), waist circumference (cm) and laboratory tests (HDL, triglycerides, and fasting blood glucose) were registered. The difference between baseline and final values was analyzed with Student t test for paired data and Z test for difference of proportions. Results: The frequency of premorbid metabolic syndrome was 24.7 %. A statistically significant difference was observed in all parameters of metabolic syndrome after the “Life Reform” intervention. Hypertriglyceridemia and low HDL were the most affected parameters. After the intervention, 114 workers (46.4 % of included workers that fully completed the program) did not meet criteria of pre-morbid Metabolic Syndrome. Conclusions: The results of “Life Reform” program are promising, but future studies should explore new methods in order to improve adherence.