Prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and its components in Brazilian women with polycystic ovary syndrome

SOARES, Elvira Maria Mafaldo et al. Prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and its components in Brazilian women with polycystic ovary syndrome. Fertility and Sterility, v.89, n.3, p.649-655, mar. 2008

Objective: To determine the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components in Brazilian women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: University Hospital, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal-RN, Brazil. Patient(s): 102 women with PCOS by the Rotterdam consensus criteria. Intervention(s): None. Main Outcome Measure(s): Clinical and biochemical parameters for MetS as defined by the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel (NCEP ATP III). Result(s): The prevalence for individual components of MetS were high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level <50 mg/dL in 69.6%, waist circumferenceR88 cm in 57.9%, triglyceride levelR150 mg/dL in 31.7%, blood pressure R130/85 mm Hg in 18.6%, and fasting glucose concentrations R110 mg/dL in 2.9%. Three or more of these individual criteria were present in 29 (28.4%) of the patients. The prevalence of MetS increased with body mass index: 3.2%, 19.2% and 52.3% for normal, overweight, and obese women, respectively. Conclusion(s): These findings indicate that Brazilian women with PCOS have a high prevalence of MetS and its individual components, particularly a decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level. Thus, these women are at increased risk of diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease