Population Comparison of Two Clinical Approaches to the Metabolic Syndrome

In 2005, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) released a consensus clinical definition of the metabolic syndrome for worldwide use that included central obesity as a prerequisite (1). The IDF definition varied from the earlier Third Report of the U.S. National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel (ATP III) panel definition with broader criteria for waist circumference, HDL, and fasting plasma glucose (2). The impact of these changes to the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome, in particular the use of differing values for defining central obesity, has not been studied. Our aim was to compare these two definitions for the distribution and prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in a representative biomedical population study of predominantly European adults from Adelaide, South Australia (population 1.2 million) (3). Individuals aged ≥18 years from households selected at random from the electronic white pages directory were eligible. Of the eligible sample of 8,213, a total of 5,850 (71%) completed the initial interview. Of these, 4,060 (69%) attended the clinic for the biomedical examination (3). Respondents completed surveys and underwent clinic assessment, including measurement of blood pressure height, weight, waist, and fasting glucose and lipid levels (3). The study was approved by the institutional ethics committees of the North West Adelaide Health Service, …