Prevalence, agreement and classification of various metabolic syndrome criteria among ethnic Chinese: A report on the hospital-based health diagnosis of the adult population

Objectives Many criteria of metabolic syndrome have been made available to practitioners in the recent past. This study has been designed to investigate the distribution, agreement and classification patterns of these criteria among the ethnic Chinese population. Methods A total of 6610 (women, 42.5%) adults (mean, 52.3 years) were recruited from the hospital-based health diagnosis program during 2004. We divided criteria of metabolic syndrome into two groups: those with a major component required (WHO, EGIR, AACE, IDF) and those with equal component (ATP III, AHA, with modifications). Results The highest standardized rates were in Asian AHA criterion, up to 29.8% in men and 25.6% in women. The lowest rates were in WHO criterion, 8.8% in men and 8.0% in women. The κ values using all criteria were 0.59 in men and 0.65 in women and decreased in the major component group (0.50 in men, 0.54 in women), while increased in the equal component group (0.83 in men, 0.81 in women). Using hierarchical cluster analysis and dendrograms, two large clusters were identified in men (major components and equal components); however, mixed sub-clusters of major and equal components apparently grouped by insulin resistance and obesity criteria in women. Conclusions There is substantial agreement and grouping of metabolic syndrome models among ethnic Chinese.