Prevalence of metabolic syndrome in primary antiphospholipid syndrome patients

Abstract

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in patients with primary antiphospholipid syndrome (PAPS).

Patients and methods: Cross sectional study of PAPS patients from the outpatient clinic. MetS was based on three international definitions: World Health Organization (WHO), Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III), or International Diabetes Federation (IDF). Clinical history and laboratory investigations, including insulin levels, lipid profile, glucose, and CRP, anthropometric and blood pressure measurements, were evaluated. Descriptive statistics was used. Kappa statistics examined the agreement between MetS definitions.

Results: 58 PAPS patients were studied, mean age 42.14±11.62, 9 men, 49 women. The most frequent cardiovascular risk (CVR) factors were hypertriglyceridemia, low HDL cholesterol levels, and visceral obesity. Prevalence of MetS was 17.2% according to WHO, 34.5% according to ATP III and 37.9% according to IDF criteria. MetS according to ATP III and WHO criteria was similar to the general population (34.5% vs. 36.8%) (17.2% vs. 13.6%), and lower according to IDF definition (37.9% vs. 49.8%).

Conclusions: This study shows a high prevalence of MetS in PAPS patients, similar to that in the general population and other autoimmune diseases. Identification of MetS is very important to indicate preventive strategies and reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in PAPS.