The WHO and NCEP/ATPIII Definitions of the Metabolic Syndrome in Postmenopausal Women: Are They So Different?
BACKGROUND
The aim of this study was to examine the metabolic risk profile in postmenopausal women characterized by either the metabolic syndrome (MS) as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) or the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Adult Treatment Panel III (ATPIII).


METHODS
One hundred and eight postmenopausal women (56.9 +/- 4.2 years; 28.5 +/- 5.9 kg/m(2)) were examined. Each underwent an oral glucose tolerance test, an euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp, an assessment of body fat distribution by computed tomography, a complete plasma lipid-lipoprotein profile, and standard measurements of inflammatory markers.


RESULTS
The prevalence of the MS-WHO was 29.6% in our women. Type 2 diabetes was found in 28.1% of women with the MS-WHO. Thirty-one percent of women had the MS-ATP, from which 36.4% had type 2 diabetes. Among the 32 women identified as having MS-WHO, 25 (78.1 %) were also identified as having the MS-ATP. On the other hand, among the 34 women identified as having MS-ATP, 24 (70.0 %) also had MS-WHO (kappa = 0.60). When we subdivided our sample of women as having either isolated MS-WHO, isolated MS-ATP, or combined MS-WHO and MS-ATP, we observed a more deteriorated metabolic risk profile (higher values for visceral adipose tissue, 2-h plasma glucose, and lower HDL-cholesterol concentrations) in women characterized by isolated MS-ATP compared to women with isolated MS-WHO.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that, in postmenopausal women, the concordance in the identification of subjects with the MS using each of the proposed definitions is only moderate.
Piché
Marie-Eve
ME
Institute of Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods, Laval University, Québec (Québec), Canada., Lipid Research Center, CHUL Research Center, Québec (Québec), Canada.
Weisnagel
S John
SJ
Corneau
Louise
L
Nadeau
André
A
Bergeron
Jean
J
Lemieux
Simone
S