IJCS | Volume 31, Nº6, November / December 2018

605 Table 1 - Subjects’ characteristics Men Women Total p Participants (n, %) 412 (31.2) 908 (68.8) 1,320 (100) Age (years) 45.8 ± 0.73 44.4 ± 0.46 44.8 ± 0.39 0.086 Weight (kilograms) 80.1 ± 0.80 67.9 ± 0.48 71.7 ± 0.44 0.0001 Height (meters) 1.69 ± 0.00 1.56 ± 0.00 1.60 ± 0.00 0.0001 BMI (kg/m 2 ) 27.7 ± 0.25 27.6 ± 0.17 27.6 ± 0.14 0.633 Waist circumference (cm) 96.4 ± 0.65 89.8 ± 91.9 91.9 ± 0.35 0.0001 Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) 125.6 ± 0.94 118.9 ± 0.60 121.0 ± 0.51 0.0001 Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg) 80.8 ± 0.68 75.9 ± 0.39 77.4 ± 0.35 0.0001 Blood glucose (mg/dL) 88 ± 22.0 85.0 ± 19.0 85.0 ± 19.0 0.0001 HDL-c (mg/dL) 43.2 ± 0.51 47.2 ± 0.36 45.9 ± 0.30 0.0001 Triglycerides (mg/dL) 175.3 ± 6.90 140.0 ± 2.81 151.0 ± 2.93 0.0001 Data are represented as mean ± standard deviation. Blood glucose values are represented as median values ± interquartile range. BMI: body mass index. HDL-c: high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. LDL-c: low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Brajkovich et al. Metabolic syndrome inVenezuela Int J Cardiovasc Sci. 2018;31(6)603-609 Original Article Categorization of variables MS was defined according to the definition of the harmonized Joint Interim Statement (2009) 13 as the presence of at least three of the following: abdominal obesity (waist circumference ≥ 94 cm in men or ≥ 90 cm in women), 7 triglycerides ≥ 150 mg/dL, HDL-c < 40 mg/ dL in men and < 50 mg/dL in women, blood pressure ≥ 130/85 mmHg or antihypertensive treatment, and fasting blood glucose ≥ 100 mg/dL or self-reported diabetes. Additionally, the definition of MS according to the NCEP/ATP-III 11 was also applied to compare with previous reports. In this definition, elevated fasting blood glucose was set at ≥ 110 mg/dL, and abdominal obesity as waist circumference > 102 cm in men and > 88 cm in women. Individuals were classified according to their BMI as having normal weight (BMI < 25 kg/m 2 ), overweight (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m 2 and < 30 kg/m 2 ), or obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m 2 ). Statistical analysis All calculations were performed using the program SPSS 20 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, United States). Data of continuous variables are presented as mean ± standard deviation. Blood glucose values are presented as median and interquartile range (IR) due to a nonnormal distribution. Differences between mean values were assessed by analysis of variance (ANOVA), with Bonferroni or Tukeyadjustment formultiple comparisons. Differences betweenmedian levels of blood glucose were evaluatedwith theMann-Whitney U test. The proportion of subjects with MS and its components are presented as prevalence rates and 95%CIs. The chi-square test was applied to compare different frequencies by gender and nutritional state. A p value < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results Subjects characteristics Two-thirds of the study subjects were female. Men had higher weight, height, waist circumference, blood pressure, and blood glucose values than women (Table 1). There were no differences between genders for age and BMI. Prevalence of metabolic syndrome More than one-third of the subjects had MS (35.7%), and the frequency of this condition was higher in men than women (Table 2). Low HDL-c and abdominal obesity were the most frequent abnormalities. Most MS components were increased in men, except for low HDL-c levels, which were more frequent in women.