PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Gosadi, Ibrahim M. TI - Assessment of the environmental and genetic factors influencing prevalence of metabolic syndrome in Saudi Arabia AID - 10.15537/smj.2016.1.12675 DP - 2016 Jan 01 TA - Saudi Medical Journal PG - 12--20 VI - 37 IP - 1 4099 - http://smj.org.sa/content/37/1/12.short 4100 - http://smj.org.sa/content/37/1/12.full SO - Saudi Med J2016 Jan 01; 37 AB - Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a combination of factors that increases the risk of cardiovascular atherosclerotic diseases including diabetes, obesity, dyslipidemia, and high blood pressure. Cardiovascular diseases are one of the leading causes of death in the adult Saudi population where the increase in cardiovascular-related mortality is augmented by the rise in the prevalence of MS. Metabolic syndrome is a multi-factorial disorder influenced by interactions between genetic and environmental components. This review aims to provide a comprehensive assessment of studied environmental and genetic factors explaining the prevalence of MS in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Additionally, this review aims to illustrate factors related to the population genetics of Saudi Arabia, which might explain a proportion of the prevalence of MS.