Archives of Medical Research 35 (2004) 76–81 ORIGINAL ARTICLE High Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome in Mexico Carlos A. Aguilar-Salinas, a Rosalba Rojas, b Francisco J. Go ´mez-Pe ´rez, a Victoria Valles, a Juan Manuel Rı ´os-Torres, a Aurora Franco, b Gustavo Olaiz, c Juan A. Rull a and Jaime Sepu ´lveda c a Departamento de Endocrinologı ´a y Metabolismo, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Me ´dicas y Nutricio ´n Salvador Zubira ´n (INCMNSZ), Mexico City, Mexico b Secretarı ´a General, c Direccio ´n General, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pu ´blica (INSP), Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico Received for publication January 27, 2003; accepted June 6, 2003 (03/017). Background. Our objective was to describe the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome using World Health Organization (WHO) and National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP-III) definitions in a population-based survey. Methods. We performed an analysis of data from a Mexican nationwide, population-based study. The population was composed of 2,158 men and women aged 20–69 years sampled after a 9–12 h fasting period. Prevalence of the metabolic syndrome as defined by the NCEP-III definition and WHO criteria was estimated and case characteristics were assessed. Results. Age-adjusted prevalence was 13.61% for WHO criteria and 26.6% for the NCEP- III definition. Prevalence was 9.2 and 21.4%, respectively, in subjects without diabetes. Thirty five percent of affected cases were 40 years of age. In addition to criteria used for diagnosis, ca. 90% were either overweight or obese. In cases detected using WHO criteria, antihypertensive treatment or blood pressure reading 140/90 was found in 61.8%. The proportion of subjects who qualified for hypolipemiant treatment was lower: lifestyle modifications were needed in 42.1% and drug therapy was required in 18.9%. The same trends were found for cases detected using the NCEP definition. Conclusions. Prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in Mexico is high. A large proportion of affected cases qualify for preventive actions for complications of the metabolic syndrome (i.e., weight loss, antihypertensive or hypolipemiant treatment). These results provide data for planning therapeutic programs for Mexican patients with the metabolic syndrome.  2004 IMSS. Published by Elsevier Inc. Key Words: Cholesterol, Triglycerides, Mexico, Glucose intolerance, Metabolic syndrome. Introduction The metabolic syndrome is a key feature of the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. It is also involved in the progression of atherosclerosis and other degenerative processes (1–3). The manifestations of this disorder vary widely among indi- viduals. Contradictory results have been common in this field. One possible reason for this are the criteria used for Address reprint requests to: Carlos Alberto Aguilar-Salinas, M.D., Departamento de Endocrinologı ´a y Metabolismo, INCMNSZ, Vasco de Quiroga #15, Tlalpan, 14000 Me ´xico, D.F., Me ´xico. Phone: (+52) (55) 5513-3891; FAX: (+52) (55) 5513-0002; E-mail: caguilarsalinas@ yahoo.com 0188-4409/04 $–see front matter. Copyright  2004 IMSS. Published by Elsevier Inc. doi: 10.1016/j.arcmed.2003.06.006 considering the subjects as affected. Absence of a genetic marker has resulted in several diagnostic criteria (4–6). Re- cently, two major attempts to provide a unifying definition were published. In 1998, the World Health Organization (WHO) proposed a set of criteria that included four clinical entities and demonstration of either glucose intolerance or insulin resistance for considering a subject as affected; a slightly different version that used a lower cut-point for definition of arterial hypertension was published in 1999 (4). WHO recommendations have been applied successfully in Caucasian populations (7). In 2001, the National Choles- terol Education Program (NCEP-III) published its third report (8); this report provided a working definition that