Dramatic increase in the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in Finnish young adults

In a longitudinal population-based follow-up study of 2182 healthy Finnish young adults aged 24-39 years, the current prevalence of the metabolic syndrome according to the definitions of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP), the European Group for the Study of Insulin Resistance (EGIR) and the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) was 13.0%, 9.8% and 14.3%, respectively. IDF criteria identified 85% of the participants with the metabolic syndrome using the NCEP criteria, while NCEP criteria identified 74% of participants using the IDF criteria. With NCEP and IDF criteria, there was an age-related increase in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome, especially in men. With IDF criteria, the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in men increased from 4.0% to 25.2% (P<0.0001) between ages 24 and 39 years, this age-related increase being mainly accounted for by increases in obesity and serum triglycerides. Additionally, there was a significant secular trend in 24-year-old subjects between years 1986 and 2001, the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome increasing from 1.0% to 7.5% (P<0.0001) in 15 years.

Abstract