Association of the metabolic syndrome with vascular disease in an older Chinese population: Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (MS) and relative associations with vascular disease in an older Chinese population using the US National Cholesterol Education Program: Adult Treatment Panel (NCEP: ATP III) and International Diabetes Federation (IDF) definitions.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional study.

SUBJECTS: A total of 3035 men and 7291 women aged 50 to 85 yr recruited from Guangzhou, China.

MEASUREMENTS: All participants received a full medical check-up including measurement of blood pressure, obesity indices, fasting total, LDL-, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides (TG) and glucose levels. Demographic information and self-reported history of physician-diagnosed coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke and myocardial infarction (MI) were collected through standardized interview.

RESULTS: The estimates under the two definitions differed substantially, with the age standardized prevalence of MS 15.57% using the NCEP: ATP III definition and 25.81% using the IDF definition. Among all participants, 80.23% were similarly classified using both definitions. The association between self-reported CHD, stroke and MI and the MS defined by the IDF definition was stronger than that by the NCEP: ATP III.

CONCLUSIONS: The IDF compared to the ATP III definition shows a stronger association with the MS and associated vascular disease in Chinese. The prevalence of the MS is alarmingly high in this older Chinese population. Comprehensive strategies are needed for prevention and treatment of the MS to reduce the increased societal burden of cardiovascular disease in China.