Abstract

BACKGROUND
Many different criteria for defining metabolic syndrome have been suggested. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome differs according to each set of criteria. This study was performed to estimate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in middle-aged Korean people using five different criteria. METHODS: This was a population based, cross-sectional study including 5,330 participants (2,197 males and 3,133 females), over the age 40, conducted in a rural area of Korea. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was assessed according to the NCEP-ATP III criterion, Asian Pacific region criterion for abdominal obesity (modified ATP III), WHO criterion, American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) and European Group for the Study of Insulin (EGIR) criterion. We performed anthropometry and laboratory test on the 5,330 subjects, and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was determined according to the five different definition. RESULTS: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome using the modified ATP III, NCEP- ATP III, WHO, AACE and EGIR criteria were 33.8 (27.0% in men and 38.7% in women), 23.8 (17.5% in men and 28.3% in women), 23.7 (26.5% in men and 21.7% in women.), 30.1 (22.4% in men and 35.4% in women) and 15.2% (12.9% in men and 16.9% in women), respectively. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was quite different in the same population according to the different definitions applied. Further studies, including a prospective study on metabolic syndrome, will be needed to clarify the definition and clinical characteristics of metabolic syndrome in Korea

• Keywords: Metabolic syndrome;Prevalence;Definition;Waist circumference;