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Factor analysis and defining the metabolic syndrome.
1Division of Adult and Community Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. esf2@cdc.gov
Ethnicity & Disease
|November 25, 2003
Summary
Metabolic syndrome components like waist circumference, fasting insulin, triglycerides, and HDL cholesterol consistently group together. These patterns are similar across different age groups, sexes, and ethnic backgrounds in the US population.
Area of Science:
- Metabolic health and epidemiology
- Biostatistics and data analysis
Background:
- Metabolic syndrome is characterized by a cluster of metabolic and physiological abnormalities.
- Significant debate exists regarding the precise definition and constituent factors of metabolic syndrome.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the interrelationships between various abnormalities associated with metabolic syndrome.
- To identify consistent patterns of metabolic syndrome factors across diverse demographic groups.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1988-1994).
- Employed principal components analysis to derive factors from variables commonly linked to metabolic syndrome.
- Analyzed data from 6868 US adults aged 20 years and older.
Main Results:
- Four key variables (waist circumference, fasting insulin, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol) consistently formed the primary metabolic syndrome factor across age, sex, and ethnicity.
- Factor patterns showed some variation by age and sex but minimal differences across racial/ethnic groups when stratified by sex.
- Inclusion of leptin concentrations did not alter the identified factors or provide a unifying explanation.
Conclusions:
- The underlying factor structure of metabolic syndrome-associated variables demonstrates consistency across White, African American, and Mexican American populations.
- These findings support a common metabolic syndrome construct irrespective of race or ethnicity.