Further discussions might be needed before implementing the International Diabetes Federation definition of the metabolic syndrome in Taiwan
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To compare the cardiovascular profiles of patients when using the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) definition of the metabolic syndrome versus the new National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) definition, 2608 non-institutionalized adults from the National Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan with complete data of five metabolic syndrome components were analyzed. While both definitions adopted lower cut-points for fasting glucose and race-specific cut-points for waist circumference, the IDF definition has made enlarged waist circumference a sine qua non component. The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome was 6.2% in men and 12.6% in women when using the IDF definition and 11.6% in men and 16.5% in women when using the NCEP definition. Despite high agreements between the two definitions, IDF failed to pick up 4-5% of subjects with more than three metabolic syndrome components but with a waist circumference less than the cut-point. By contrast, subjects whose condition only satisfied the NCEP definition had similar or worse metabolic profiles than those whose condition satisfied both the IDF definition and the new NCEP definition. According to the authors, further discussions are needed before implementing the IDF definition of the metabolic syndrome in Taiwan.
Abstract
