title: Longitudinal and age trends of metabolic syndrome and its risk factors: the Family Heart Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We report longitudinal changes in the metabolic syndrome (MetS) in 2,458 participants from 480 families in the Family Heart Study. Participants were examined between 1994-96 (FHS-T1) and 2002-03 (FHS-T2), about 7.4 years apart. Additionally, the impact of medication on estimates of MetS prevalence, and associations of MetS with prevalent coronary heart disease (CHD) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) were studied.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three definitions for MetS prevalence were considered. One represented the original (o) National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) MetS criteria. Two others considered the confounding of medications effects, respectively (m) lipid medications constituted a categorical diagnostic criterion for lipids variables, and (c) lipids and blood pressure variables were corrected with average clinical trials medications effects. Logistic regression of MetS on CHD and T2D, as well as the trend analysis of MetS by age, were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  MetS increased from 17.1% in FHS-T1(o) to 28.8% in FHS-T2(o); from 19.7% in FHS-T1(m) to 42.5% in FHS-T2(m); and from 18.4% in FHS-T1(c) to 33.6% in FHS-T2(c). While we observed adverse changes in all risk factors, the greatest increase was for waist circumference (25%). The percentages of MetS were about 2 to almost 3 times higher in ages 50 years and older than in younger ages. The odds of having prevalent CHD were about 2.5 times higher in the subjects classified with MetS than without.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MetS percentages increased noticeably longitudinally and cross-sectionally with older age. These conclusions were reached with and without considering medication use, but correcting risk factors for medications use affects the MetS prevalence estimates. As found in other studies, MetS was associated with increased odds for prevalent CHD.
authors.affiliation: Division of Statistical Genomics, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA. aldi@wustl.edu
authors.forename: Aldi T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Kraja
authors.forename: Ingrid B
authors.initials: IB
authors.lastname: Borecki
authors.forename: Kari
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: North
authors.forename: Weihong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Richard H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Myers
authors.forename: Paul N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Hopkins
authors.forename: Donna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Arnett
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Corbett
authors.forename: Avril
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Adelman
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Province