Metabolic Syndrome MS is a clustering of metabolic alterations associated to IR; however, there is no international consensus for defining its diagnosis. We studied individuals, aged 18β74, and residents from Talca. The prevalence in men was higher than in women for both MS definitions, although not significant. Hypertension, high triglycerides and abdominal obesity are the most frequent alterations in MS.
The MS subjects showed higher levels of blood pressure, waist circumference and plasma triglycerides. Considering our results, it is worrisome that one third of our population has a high risk of developing DM2 and CVD in the future.
It is characterized by a decrease in biologic insulin action, so plasmatic insulin levels are higher to maintain normal glucose plasma levels [ 4 ]. However, insulin sensitivity measurement is complex and expensive, so the model proposed by Mathews et al. Metabolic Syndrome MS is a clustering of metabolic alterations associated to IR, but conceptual differences exist between the currently available definitions [ 10 , 11 ].
This definition was simple, so various prospective studies adopted the definition and determined its relation to CVD, but later the NCEP criteria were criticized because the identification of those affected is strongly influenced by ethnicity [ 15 β 17 ].
The thresholds were selected based on evidence from studies in Caucasian populations and variability among ethnic groups was not taken into account since waist circumference and body composition are different in Asian and Hispanic populations [ 18 β 20 ]. The International Diabetes Federation IDF proposed a new definition for MS [ 21 ] that is based on the importance of abdominal obesity as a condition that must be present in all subjects with the syndrome, and that the threshold for waist circumferences must be defined in each country for its own ethnic groups [ 22 ].
