title: LDL cholesterol is more strongly associated with metabolic syndrome in Japanese women than in men.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  LDL cholesterol is not usually considered as a component of metabolic syndrome (MetS) but rather it is associated with MetS components.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from 2,449 men and 1,448 women were examined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for diagnosing MetS and correlation coefficients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Blood levels of LDL cholesterol increased more steeply in women than in men as the number of MetS components increased. The area under ROC curve (AUC) and its 95% confidence interval (CI) of LDL cholesterol for diagnosing MetS were 0.57 and 0.53-0.60 in men and 0.66 and 0.61-0.71 in women. The optimal cut-off point (sensitivity; specificity) of LDL cholesterol was 127 mg/dL (0.50; 0.60) in men and 125 mg/dL (0.64; 0.61) in women. Correlations between LDL cholesterol and systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, gamma glutamyltransferase, and hemoglobin A1c were stronger in women than in men even after adjustment for age. The correlation between LDL cholesterol and blood pressure was significant in women, but not in men, even after adjusting for age.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  LDL cholesterol was more strongly associated with MetS in Japanese women than in men. The correlation between LDL cholesterol and blood pressure was significant in women, but not in men.
authors.affiliation: Medical Check-up Center, Tachikawa Medical Center, Nagaoka, Japan. ijie@venus.sannet.ne.jp
authors.forename: Eiji
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Oda
authors.forename: Ryu
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kawai
authors.forename: Vijayakumar
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sukumaran
authors.forename: Kenichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Watanabe
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood*; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase; C517652:hemoglobin A1c protein, human