Prevalence and clinical characteristics of the metabolic syndrome in middle-aged Korean adults.
BACKGROUND
The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence and clinical characteristic of the metabolic syndrome of adults, over 40 years old, living in Korea.


METHODS
This study was carried out for 2 years, 2003-2004, on total 5,330 individuals (2,197 men and 3,133 women) selected by the stratified random cluster sampling among adults over 40 years old. Metabolic syndrome was defined based on both the NCEP-ATP III criteria and Modified ATP III criteria applying the WHO-APR (Asian Pacific Region)'s abdominal obesity criteria (waist circumference > 90 cm in men, 80 cm in women) instead of NCEP-ATP III criteria.


RESULTS
Using NCEP-ATP III criteria, the age-adjusted overall prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 24.8% (17.6% in men, 30.0% in women). Age-adjusted overall prevalence of metabolic syndrome as defined by modified-ATP III criteria was 34.3% (26.3% in men, 40.1% in women). The prevalence of metabolic syndrome for each age group (40-49, 50-59, 60-69, > or = 70) in men was as follows: 18.8%, 17.4%, 18.3%, 14.5%. In women: 22.3%, 32.7%, 39.9%, 39.3%. The prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia (triglycerides > or = 1.7 mmol/l) was well correlated with the changing pattern of the prevalence of metabolic syndrome both in men and women.


CONCLUSIONS
The peak age of metabolic syndrome in men was age 40 through 49, and the prevalence decreased with aging. Therefore, early intervention for risk factors of metabolic syndrome might be required in men. On the other hand, prevention for cardiovascular disease will be needed for perimenopausal women due to considerably increased prevalence in the age 50 through 59.
Department of Internal Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Seoul.
Hyuk Sang
HS
Kwon
Yong Moon
YM
Park
Hye Jung
HJ
Lee
Jin Hee
JH
Lee
Yoon Hee
YH
Choi
Seung Hyun
SH
Ko
Jung Min
JM
Lee
Sung Rae
SR
Kim
So Young
SY
Kang
Won Chul
WC
Lee
Myung Sook
MS
Ahn
Jae Hong
JH
Noh
Jin Mo
JM
Kang
Dong Suk
DS
Kim
Kun Ho
KH
Yoon
Bong Yun
BY
Cha
Kwang Woo
KW
Lee
Sung Koo
SK
Kang
Ho Young
HY
Son
D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence