Prevalence of the metabolic syndrome among a determined Puerto Rican population

The metabolic syndrome defined as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, dyslipidemia, Glucose intolerance and hyperinsulinemia, also known as the syndrome of insulin resistance, has been found highly prevalent among Hispanic populations. The reason is attributed to the high prevalence of obesity and diabetes due to genetic factors, sedentary lifestyle and poor nutritional habits. The association of the metabolic syndrome with cardiovascular disease is widely recognized but the prevalence of the syndrome varies between studies due to the variations among both definitions (ATP III and WHO). We aim to determine the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in a determined Puerto Rican population at the outpatient employee's clinic to further support the burden of the metabolic syndrome among hispanics. In this study, the ATP III criteria presented higher prevalence of the metabolic syndrome than the WHO definition and the modified criteria detected more cases of impaired fasting glucose than ATP III. The 32% overall prevalence support the NHANES III reported prevalence among Mexican-Americans.