Background: The criteria for best defining the metabolic syndrome (MS), especially in the elderly population, are still little known, and the understanding is increasingly necessary.
Objective: Compare the four MS definition proposals, two official ones (National Cholesterol Education Program's Adult Treatment Panel III/NCEP-ATPIII and International Diabetes Federation/IDF) and two proposed definitions (Metabolic Syndrome - National Cholesterol Education Program's Adult Treatment Panel III - modified/MS-ATPM and Metabolic Syndrome - International Diabetes Federation - modified/MS-IDFM), derived from the changes in the official criteria.
Methods: A total of 113 women (60-83 years old) participated in this study; they were submitted to anthropometric, blood pressure, lipid profile, fasting glycemia tests and answered questions related to life style habits and health conditions. Statistical analyses were performed using the chi-square test and Kappa coefficient determination.
Results: The frequency of the high pressure levels was similar in the two official definitions (54.8%), with a reduction in the two proposed definitions (33.6%). The homeostasis change of the glucose was higher as per the IDF and MS-IDFM (30.1%). The hypertriglyceridemia and the low levels of HDL-c were similar in all the definitions (35.4%). In relation to the abdominal obesity, the higher occurrence was registered by the IDF criteria (88.5%). The presence of the metabolic syndrome presented higher and lower frequencies as per the IDF proposal (45.1%) and MS-IDFM (22.1%), respectively. Higher agreement was found between the modified definition MS-ATPM with NCEP-ATPIII and MS-IDFM (Kappa: 0.79 and 0.77; p < 0.00001).
Conclusion: The MS-ATPM proposal was found more adequate for the MS detection in the evaluated elderly women.