Prevalence of the Metabolic Syndrome and Its Components
Findings from a Finnish general population sample and the Diabetes Prevention Study cohort
- Pirjo Ilanne-Parikka, MD12,
- Johan G. Eriksson, MD, PHD3,
- Jaana Lindström, MS3,
- Helena Hämäläinen, MD, PHD4,
- Sirkka Keinänen-Kiukaanniemi, MD, PHD56,
- Mauri Laakso, MD56,
- Anne Louheranta, PHD7,
- Marjo Mannelin, MS6,
- Merja Rastas, MS8,
- Virpi Salminen, MS3,
- Sirkka Aunola, PHD9,
- Jouko Sundvall, MS10,
- Timo Valle, MD3,
- Jorma Lahtela, MD, PHD2,
- Matti Uusitupa, MD, PHD7,
- Jaakko Tuomilehto, MD, PHD3 and
- the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study Group
- 1The Diabetes Center, Finnish Diabetes Association, Tampere, Finland
- 2Department of Internal Medicine, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland
- 3Department of Epidemiology and Health Promotion, Diabetes and Genetic Epidemiology Unit, National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland
- 4Research Department, Social Insurance Institution, Turku, Finland
- 5Department of Public Health Science and General Practice, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
- 6Department of Sports Medicine, Oulu University Hospital and Oulu Deaconess Institute, Oulu, Finland
- 7Department of Clinical Nutrition, University of Kuopio, Kuopio, Finland
- 8Department of Epidemiology and Health Promotion, Nutrition Unit, National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland
- 9Department of Health and Functional Capacity, Laboratory of Population Research, National Public Health Institute, Turku, Finland
- 10Department of Health and Functional Capacity, Laboratory of Analytical Biochemistry, National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland
- Address correspondence and reprint requests to Pirjo Ilanne-Parikka, The Diabetes Center, Kirjoniementie 15, FIN-33680 Tampere, Finland. E-mail: pirjo.ilanneparikka{at}diabetes.fi
Abstract
OBJECTIVE—To assess the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) in two independent Finnish study cohorts.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—The prevalence of the MetS by modified World Health Organization criteria was analyzed in different categories of glucose tolerance in a cross-sectional, population-based sample of 2,049 individuals (FINRISK) aged 45–64 years and in 522 participants of the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study (DPS) with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT).
RESULTS—In the FINRISK cohort, the MetS was present in 38.8% of the men and 22.2% of the women. The prevalence was 14.4 and 10.1% in subjects with normal glucose tolerance, 74.0 and 52.2% in subjects with impaired fasting glucose, 84.8 and 65.4% in subjects with IGT, and 91.5 and 82.7% in subjects with type 2 diabetes in men and women, respectively. Among women, the prevalence of the MetS increased with increasing age. In the DPS cohort, the MetS was present in 78.4% of the men and 72.2% of the women with IGT.
CONCLUSIONS—The MetS was extremely common in middle-aged subjects The high prevalence in men was mostly due to their high waist-to-hip ratio. The prevalence of the MetS increased in both sexes with deterioration in glucose regulation. Approximately 75% of the subjects with IGT had the MetS. Because the syndrome includes the major risk factors for atherosclerotic vascular diseases and is the major antecedent for type 2 diabetes, concerted preventive action should be targeted to control all the features of the MetS.
- DPS, Diabetes Prevention Study
- EGIR, European Group for the Study of Insulin Resistance
- FPG, fasting plasma glucose concentration
- IFG, impaired fasting glucose
- IGT, impaired glucose tolerance
- MetS, metabolic syndrome
- NGT, normal glucose tolerance
- OGTT, oral glucose tolerance test
- WHO, World Health Organization
- WHR, waist-to-hip-ratio
Footnotes
-
A table elsewhere in this issue shows conventional and Système International (SI) units and conversion factors for many substances.
-
- Accepted June 16, 2004.
- Received November 20, 2003.
- DIABETES CARE
