Differences in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome according to the ATP-III and WHO definitions

The objective of the study is to know the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (MS), as well as to know the differences in its prevalence according to the Adult Treatment Panel of the National Cholesterol Education Program (ATP-III) and World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. Cross-sectional descriptive study performed in primary care in population of both sexes aged between 40 and 74 years. Variables studied were risk factors as well as each one of the components of MS, according to both definitions. We studied 358 patients, 161 (45%) men and 197 women. The prevalence of MS using the WHO criteria was 17.9% and according with the ATP-III criteria it was 23.5%. The prevalence increased with age and the body mass index. Both definitions agreed in the classification of MS in 80% of cases (kappa = 0.38). If we considered the definition of MS according to the WHO taken as the "gold standard", the ATP-III definition displays a sensitivity of 59.4%, specificity of 84.4% and negative predictive value of 90.5%. The agreement is greater in women and older than 60 years. The prevalence of MS is smaller with the WHO criteria. The agreement between both methods is scarce and the clinical application of the ATP-III criteria in primary care needs its homologation with clinic-epidemiological studies.