High prevalence of metabolic syndrome in Mexico

Our objective was to describe the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome using World Health Organization (WHO) and National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP-III) definitions in a population-based survey.

We performed an analysis of data from a Mexican nationwide, population-based study. The population was composed of 2,158 men and women aged 20-69 years sampled after a 9-12 h fasting period. Prevalence of the metabolic syndrome as defined by the NCEP-III definition and WHO criteria was estimated and case characteristics were assessed.

Age-adjusted prevalence was 13.61% for WHO criteria and 26.6% for the NCEP-III definition. Prevalence was 9.2 and 21.4%, respectively, in subjects without diabetes. Thirty five percent of affected cases were <40 years of age. In addition to criteria used for diagnosis, ca. 90% were either overweight or obese. In cases detected using WHO criteria, antihypertensive treatment or blood pressure reading >140/90 was found in 61.8%. The proportion of subjects who qualified for hypolipemiant treatment was lower: lifestyle modifications were needed in 42.1% and drug therapy was required in 18.9%. The same trends were found for cases detected using the NCEP definition.

Prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in Mexico is high. A large proportion of affected cases qualify for preventive actions for complications of the metabolic syndrome (i.e., weight loss, antihypertensive or hypolipemiant treatment). These results provide data for planning therapeutic programs for Mexican patients with the metabolic syndrome.