Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes on a High-Risk Population with Suspected Coronary Artery Disease

Abstract

Objectives: Metabolic syndrome and diabetes prevalence varies according to chosen definition, as well as the studied geographical and ethnical group. No studies are available in Portuguese patients with suspected coronary artery disease. We analysed metabolic syndrome and diabetes prevalence in this specific population and compared definitions.

Methods: The study included 300 patients, with a mean age of 64 ± 9 years, 59% males, admitted for an elective coronary angiography and we excluded patients with previous cardiac disease. Metabolic syndrome and diabetes prevalence was obtained.

Results: The adjusted prevalence of metabolic syndrome was found to be 39.3% (NCEP-ATP III criteria), 53.8% (IDF criteria) and 48.4% (AHA/NHLBI). Adjusted prevalence of diabetes was 14.8% by the previous ADA definition and 36.4% with the new definition. Global agreement between metabolic syndrome definitions was 45.3%, with the highest value between AHA/NHLBI and NCEP-ATP III (Kappa 0.821). Metabolic syndrome prevalence was highly age-dependent in both genders and more prevalent in females. Diabetes prevalence was also age-dependent, with similar prevalence in both genders. The most frequent metabolic syndrome component was hypertension, followed by abdominal obesity, raised glucose, low HDL-cholesterol and finally increased triglycerides. It is also important to mention that 60% of the patients were under lipid-lowering treatment (56.6% with statins, 1.7% with fibrates and 1.7% with both). The most significant difference between genders for metabolic syndrome components is the high prevalence of abdominal obesity in females.

Conclusions: In this high-risk population, metabolic syndrome prevalence is high, with similar diabetes prevalence compared with general population epidemiological studies.