A Comparison of the Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome among Asian Indians Using Three Proposed Definitions

Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome using three definitions: National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP/ATPIII), Modified NCEP/ATP III, and by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF). Method: The sample comprised of 1038 randomly selected Asian Indians (>18 years of age) in seven US sites - Houston, TX; Phoenix, AZ; Washington, DC; Boston, MA; San Diego, CA; Edison, NJ and Parsippany, NJ. Results: The age-adjusted prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 26.9% by the NCEP/ATP III criteria, 32.7% by the modified NCEP/ATP III criteria and 38.2% by the IDF criteria. The rate for women was higher than that for men using the original NCEP/ATP III criteria and increased with age using any criteria; rates for men increased only modestly using NCEP/ATP III or IDF criteria. There were significant gender differences in four of the five components of metabolic syndrome (serum triglycerides, blood pressure, cholesterol, and abdominal obesity). Females had a higher frequency of abdominal obesity (using any criteria) and low HDL-C levels, while males had a higher frequency of hypertriglyceridemia and hypertension. Abdominal obesity increased dramatically using the IDF criteria that emphasizes central adiposity as determined by ethnic group-specific thresholds of waist circumference. Conclusion: The use of the IDF definition of the metabolic syndrome leads to a higher prevalence estimate of the metabolic syndrome than the estimate based on the NCEP definition. Asian Indians are a high risk group for T2DM and CVD and culturally-effective prevention programs strategies are necessary for this ethnic group.