Prevalence of the metabolic syndrome among 40,698 Korean metropolitan subjects

Introduction: No published study has reported the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in Asians using Adults Treatment Panel III (ATP III) criteria, comparing results with that using the obesity criteria of the Asia–Pacific region. Methods: We evaluated the components of the metabolic syndrome among 40,698 participants aged 20–82 years (26,528 men; 14,170 women) who underwent a medical checkup at a University hospital in Seoul during 2001. Results: Using ATP III criteria, the age-adjusted prevalence of the metabolic syndrome for Koreans was 6.8% in total (5.2% male, 9.0% female). Using the Asia–Pacific criteria for abdominal obesity based on waist circumference (APC–WC: ≥90cm in men, ≥80cm in women), prevalence rates were 10.9% (9.8% male, 12.4% female), and by the Asia–Pacific criteria for obesity based on body mass index (BMI) (APC–BMI: ≥25kg/m2 in both sexes), rates were 13.1% (13.2% male, 13.1% female). Using BMI-adjusted logistic regression analysis, the odds ratio for the presence of the metabolic syndrome in those aged over 70 years against those aged 20–29 years was 13.8 (95% CI 8.2–23.2). Using age and BMI-adjusted logistic regression analysis, the odds ratio for the presence of the metabolic syndrome in women versus men was 1.4 (95% CI 1.2–1.5). The age-specific prevalence of the metabolic syndrome increased in both male and female participants, and females had higher prevalence rates than males in age groups older than 50 years. The highest prevalence rates were observed by applying APC–BMI criteria. Conclusion: Use of ATP III criteria to define the metabolic syndrome is not appropriate to Asian populations. The CVD risk attached to the use of the Asia–Pacific criteria needs to be determined in different Asian populations.