IJCS | Volume 31, Nº6, November / December 2018

606 Table 2 - Prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its components by gender Men n = 412 Women n = 908 Total n = 1,320 p Metabolic syndrome 42.5 (38.8 – 46.1) 32.6 (29.1 – 36.0) 35.7 (32.2 – 39.2) 0.0001 Elevated blood glucose 26.0 (21.7 – 30.2) 16.9 (14.4 – 19.3) 19.1 (16.9 – 21.2) 0.0001 Abdominal obesity 57.8 (54.2 – 61.2) 49.4 (45.8 – 53.1) 52.0 (48.4 – 55.7) 0.0001 Increased blood pressure 46.6 (42.9 – 50.2) 31.3 (27.9 – 34.6) 36.1 (32.6 – 39.5) 0.0001 Low HDL-c 42.2 (38.6 – 45.8) 66.0 (62.5 – 69.4) 58.6 (54.9 – 62.1) 0.0001 Elevated triglycerides 49.5 (45.8 – 53.1) 35.2 (31.7 – 38.7) 39.7 (36.1 – 43.2) 0.0001 Data are presented as percentages (95% CI). Chi-square test. Metabolic syndrome was defined as the presence of three of the following: abdominal obesity (waist circumference ≥ 94 cm in men and ≥ 90 cm in women), 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 elevated blood glucose ≥ 100 mg/dL or self-reported diabetes. Figure 1 - Prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) by age and gender. (*) indicates a significant difference in MS prevalence between genders (p < 0.05; chi-square test). (+) indicates an increased MS prevalence in the indicated gender compared with the previous decade. Brajkovich et al. Metabolic syndrome inVenezuela Int J Cardiovasc Sci. 2018;31(6)603-609 Original Article In men, the prevalence of MS was lower in the 20 – 29 years age group, but was similar in all other age groups, ranging from 39.5% to 60.9% (Figure 1). In women, the prevalence of MS increased at almost every decade of life, and was lower in the 20 – 29 years age group (9.0%) and higher in the ≥ 70 years group (71.9%). Comparing genders, the prevalence of MS was higher in men until the fifth decade of life. The prevalence of MS increased at every category of BMI in women but was similar between men with overweight and obesity (Figure 2). The prevalence of MS in men with overweight and obesity was higher than that in women. The prevalence of MS according to the ATP-III was 30.6% (95% CI 28.1 – 33.0%) and was similar between genders, 30.1% (95% CI 25.6 – 34.5%) in men and 30.9% in women (CI 95% 27.8 – 33.9%, p = 0.415).