Comparison of the different definition criteria for the diagnosis of the metabolic syndrome in elderly women.

BACKGROUND

The criteria for best defining the metabolic syndrome (MS), especially in the elderly population, are still little known, and the understanding is increasingly necessary.

OBJECTIVE

Compare the four MS definition proposals, two official ones (National Cholesterol Education Program's Adult Treatment Panel III/NCEP-ATPIII and International Diabetes Federation/IDF) and two proposed definitions (Metabolic Syndrome - National Cholesterol Education Program's Adult Treatment Panel III - modified/MS-ATPM and Metabolic Syndrome - International Diabetes Federation - modified/MS-IDFM), derived from the changes in the official criteria.

METHODS

A total of 113 women (60-83 years old) participated in this study; they were submitted to anthropometric, blood pressure, lipid profile, fasting glycemia tests and answered questions related to life style habits and health conditions. Statistical analyses were performed using the chi-square test and Kappa coefficient determination.

RESULTS

The frequency of the high pressure levels was similar in the two official definitions (54.8%), with a reduction in the two proposed definitions (33.6%). The homeostasis change of the glucose was higher as per the IDF and MS-IDFM (30.1%). The hypertriglyceridemia and the low levels of HDL-c were similar in all the definitions (35.4%). In relation to the abdominal obesity, the higher occurrence was registered by the IDF criteria (88.5%). The presence of the metabolic syndrome presented higher and lower frequencies as per the IDF proposal (45.1%) and MS-IDFM (22.1%), respectively. Higher agreement was found between the modified definition MS-ATPM with NCEP-ATPIII and MS-IDFM (Kappa: 0.79 and 0.77; p < 0.00001).

CONCLUSION

The MS-ATPM proposal was found more adequate for the MS detection in the evaluated elderly women.