1. ¹Cardiovascular Disease Division, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
2. ²Department of Internal Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
3. ³Center for Diabetes, Obesity, and Cholesterol Disorders (C-DOC), Diabetes Foundation (India), SDA, New Delhi, India

Correspondence: Professor A Misra, Department of Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, Fortis Flt. Lt. Rajan Dhall Hospital, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi 110070, India. E-mail: anoopmisra@metabolicresearchindia.com

Received 23 December 2005; Revised 18 August 2006; Accepted 10 February 2007; Published online 17 April 2007.

Abstract

The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is an important tool that identifies populations at increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes, targeting them for preventive measures. The criteria for the identification of the MetS were initially constructed from data in Caucasian populations. Recent research suggests that the current criteria for the MetS may not accurately characterize disease risk in non-Caucasian populations, either over or underestimating the risk in certain ethnic groups. Altering the criteria for each population by making ethnic-specific cutoffs as has been done with waist circumference will help in more accurate characterization. Using different combinations of the MetS criteria for different ethnic groups based CVD risk and factor analysis needs consideration. With better characterizations of patient populations, the ultimate goal would be to make MetS more accurate for predicting CVD risk while retaining the ease of screening afforded by the MetS. The proposed alterations of definition and criteria of the MetS would ensure its continued viability and sustainability.