title: Metabolic syndrome and all-cause mortality in older men and women.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) increases with age, but its association with all-cause mortality in older persons remains uncertain. This study investigated the association of all-cause mortality with MetS and its individual components in older men and women.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 917 men and 1043 women aged 65 years and older from two Italian population-based cohorts were included in the study. MetS was defined according to four different definitions: National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP), NCEP revised according to the American Heart Association and National Heart Lung Blood Institute (NCEP-R), International Diabetes Organization (IDF) and Joint Interim Statement (JIS). All of these definitions include abdominal obesity, hyperglycaemia, hypertriglyceridaemia, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and hypertension. Hazard Ratios (HR) and their corresponding 95% confidence interval (95%CI) estimated from multivariable-adjusted Cox regression models were used to investigate the associations of all-cause mortality with baseline MetS status and individual MetS components.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After 6·5 ± 1·8 years of follow-up, there were 179 deaths among women and 193 among men. Mortality risk was increased in women with MetS by any definition, regardless of individual components, but limited to age 70-79 years (NCEP, HR = 2·02, 95%CI, 1·16-3·53; NCEP-R, HR = 2·51, 95%CI, 1·45-4·34; IDF, HR = 2·16, 95%CI, 1·26-3·72; JIS, HR = 2·16, 95%CI, 1·26-3·72). Mortality risk of men was associated with hypertriglyceridaemia below age 70 years (HR = 2·50, 95%CI, 1·19-5·25), but unrelated to MetS status.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Metabolic Syndrome is associated with all-cause mortality in older women but not in men. The association, however, is limited to a narrow age range.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Ageing and Nephrology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy. paola.forti@unibo.it
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Forti
authors.forename: Gian L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Pirazzoli
authors.forename: Benedetta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Maltoni
authors.forename: Giampaolo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bianchi
authors.forename: Donatella
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Magalotti
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Muscari
authors.forename: Erminia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mariani
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ravaglia
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zoli
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D013223:Statistics as Topic