Metabolic Syndrome Criteria Checker

About the Metabolic Syndrome Criteria Checker

The metabolic syndrome is a cluster of risk factors for heart disease and type 2 diabetes: a large waist, raised triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol, raised blood pressure and raised fasting glucose. Three definitions are in use, and they differ mainly in the waist cut-off and in whether a large waist is required:

• the harmonised definition (also called JIS), a joint interim statement of the IDF, the AHA/NHLBI and three other international societies — any 3 of the 5, with population-specific waist cut-offs;
• NCEP ATP III as revised by the AHA/NHLBI — any 3 of the 5, with a waist of 102 cm for men and 88 cm for women;
• the IDF worldwide definition — a large waist for your ethnic group plus any 2 of the other 4.

Enter what you know from your waist measurement, blood pressure and fasting blood test — and any treatment for them — and choose your ethnic group for the waist cut-off (for example South Asian: 90 cm for men, 80 cm for women). The checker shows which criteria are met under each definition, says when an empty field could still change the answer, and works in mg/dL or mmol/L. Nothing you enter leaves your browser.

Without a pass, the free preview shows the harmonised result in full, with what it means, every warning and the first rows of the criteria table; a Pro pass unlocks the ATP III and IDF results, the whole table and Copy result.

Common uses

• Checking a health-check report for the metabolic syndrome under the definition your doctor uses.
• Applying the right waist cut-off for South Asian, East Asian, African, Middle Eastern or European origin.
• Seeing which missing test — waist, blood pressure or a fasting sample — would settle the answer.
• Teaching how the harmonised, ATP III and IDF definitions differ.

The five criteria

• Waist: at or above the cut-off for your sex and ethnic group (see below).
• Triglycerides: 150 mg/dL (1.7 mmol/L) or more, or treatment for high triglycerides.
• HDL cholesterol: below 40 mg/dL in men and 50 mg/dL in women, or treatment for low HDL. In mmol/L the harmonised statement prints 1.0 and 1.3, the AHA/NHLBI statement 1.03 and 1.3, and the IDF 1.03 and 1.29; the checker uses each one’s own figure.
• Blood pressure: systolic 130 mmHg or more, or diastolic 85 or more, or treatment for diagnosed hypertension.
• Fasting glucose: 100 mg/dL (5.6 mmol/L) or more, or drug treatment for high glucose in the harmonised and ATP III definitions. The IDF names previously diagnosed type 2 diabetes instead of treatment.

For treatment, the harmonised statement names fibrates and nicotinic acid as the usual drugs for high triglycerides and low HDL — someone taking one is presumed to have both, so tick both boxes — and high-dose omega-3 fatty acids for high triglycerides.

Waist cut-offs by ethnic group

The IDF cut-offs, which the harmonised statement recommends for people who are not of European origin:

• Europid: 94 cm for men, 80 cm for women (in the USA the ATP III values of 102 cm and 88 cm are likely to continue to be used clinically)
• South Asian, Chinese, Japanese and other Asian: 90 cm for men, 80 cm for women
• Ethnic South and Central American: the South Asian values
• Sub-Saharan African, Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East (Arab): the European values

For people of European origin the harmonised statement accepts the IDF or the AHA/NHLBI cut-offs (102 cm, 88 cm). National bodies list others: the Japanese Obesity Society uses 85 cm for men and 90 cm for women, and China’s Cooperative Task Force 85 cm and 80 cm. ATP III uses 102 cm and 88 cm for everyone; the AHA/NHLBI also recognise 94 cm and 80 cm as optional cut-offs for people with increased insulin resistance.

Measuring your waist

The IDF describes the measurement with a tape measure held horizontally, midway between the lower edge of the ribs and the top of the hip bone (the iliac crest), and notes that people can take it themselves. If the waist is at or above the cut-off for your group, the next step it describes is a blood-pressure reading and a fasting blood test for glucose, triglycerides and HDL cholesterol.

What the result means

Meeting a definition means that several risk factors occur together, which together raise the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. It is not a disease diagnosis by itself, and each factor — weight, blood pressure, lipids and glucose — is assessed and treated on its own merits. A fasting glucose of 126 mg/dL (7.0 mmol/L) or more is in the range the American Diabetes Association uses to diagnose diabetes; a diagnosis needs a second abnormal test, so it is flagged for your doctor.

Sources

• Alberti KGMM et al. Harmonizing the metabolic syndrome: a joint interim statement of the IDF Task Force on Epidemiology and Prevention; NHLBI; AHA; World Heart Federation; International Atherosclerosis Society; and International Association for the Study of Obesity — Circulation, Tables 1 and 2
• Grundy SM et al. Diagnosis and management of the metabolic syndrome: an American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute scientific statement — Circulation
• International Diabetes Federation. The IDF consensus worldwide definition of the metabolic syndrome — Tables 1 and 2 and the waist measurement
• American Diabetes Association. Diagnosis and Classification of Diabetes: Standards of Care in Diabetes — Table 2.1, fasting glucose

Limitations

• For adults. The IDF has separate criteria for children and adolescents, which this checker does not apply.
• Uses fasting lab values; triglycerides and glucose after a meal are higher and do not apply.
• One set of readings: blood pressure in particular should be confirmed on more than one occasion.
• A screening check, not a diagnosis; it does not estimate your cardiovascular risk in numbers.

Privacy

On this device: nothing is sent

Everything happens in your browser. What you enter or open here is not uploaded or stored by MySmartCoPilot.