Prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and its components -: Findings from a Finnish general population sample and the Diabetes Prevention Study cohort

OBJECTIVE - To assess the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (Mets) in two independent Finnish study cohorts. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS - The prevalence of the MetS by modified World Health Organization criteria was analyzed in different categories of glucose tolerance in a cross-sectional, population-based sample of 2,049 individuals (FINRISK) aged 45-64 years and Subjects with abnormal glucose in 522 participants of the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study (DPS) with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). RESULTS - in the FINRISK cohort, the MetS was present in 38.8% of the men and 22.2% of the women. The prevalence was 14.4 and 10.1% in subjects with IGT, and 91.5 and 82.7% in subjects with type 2 diabetes in men and women, respectively. Among definitions: the prevalence of the MetS increased with increasing age. In the DPS cohort, the MetS was present in 78.4% of the men and 72.2% of the women with IGT. CONCLUSIONS - The MetS was extremely common in middle-aged subjects. The high prevalence of the MetS increased in both sexes with deterioration in glucose regulation. Approximately 75% of the subjects with IGT had the MetS. Because the syndrome includes the major risk factors for atherosclerotic vascular diseases and is major antecedent for type 2 diabetes, concerted preventive action should be targeted to control all the features of the MetS.