Prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its relation to body composition in a Chinese rural population.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) with three different working definitions in a rural Chinese population and to examine its relation to body composition.


METHODS
A total of 18,630 adults 25 to 64 years old (mean age, 45.8 years; 51.2% men) from 5686 families were enrolled from Anhui province of China during 2004 to 2005. Anthropometric measurement, body composition, blood pressure, plasma lipids, and fasting glucose and insulin and a questionnaire-based interview were obtained from each participant. Three different working definitions for MetS, including the U.S. National Cholesterol Education Program's Adult Treatment Panel III, a modified Adult Treatment Panel III that adopts the World Health Organization's criterion for central obesity in Asian populations, and one recently proposed by the International Diabetes Federation, were used in the study.


RESULTS
According to the three definitions, the age-adjusted prevalence of MetS for adults 25 to 64 years old was 3.2%, 4.9%, and 3.9% in men and 7.2%, 11.5%, and 10.9% in women, respectively. MetS prevalence increases significantly with age in women, but not in men. Body fat percentage and BMI and waist circumference were significantly associated with each component of MetS, especially with triglyceride level, insulin resistance index, and number of MetS components (r = 0.28 to 0.49).


CONCLUSIONS
The age-adjusted prevalence of MetS in our study population is lower than that reported in other urban Chinese populations. Significant gender differences in MetS prevalence were observed. The waist circumference is a good surrogate for abdominal fat percentage.
Feng
Yan
Y
Program for Population Genetics, Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, FXB-101, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Hong
Xiumei
X
Li
Zhiping
Z
Zhang
Wenbin
W
Jin
Delai
D
Liu
Xue
X
Zhang
Yan
Y
Hu
Frank B
FB
Wei
Lee-Jen
LJ
Zang
Tonghua
T
Xu
Xiping
X
Xu
Xin
X
D050153:Abdominal Fat / Q000378:metabolism*; D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon / Q000379:methods; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001823:Body Composition / Q000502:physiology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012423:Rural Health; D012424:Rural Population; D012737:Sex Factors; D049629:Waist-Hip Ratio