Moderate or greater daily coffee consumption is associated with lower incidence of metabolic syndrome in Taiwanese militaries: results from the CHIEF cohort study

A cluster of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus, which occur together more often than by chance alone, have become known as the metabolic syndrome. The risk factors include raised blood pressure, dyslipidemia (raised triglycerides and lowered high-density lipoprotein cholesterol), raised fasting glucose, and central obesity. Various diagnostic criteria have been proposed by different organizations over the past decade. Most recently, these have come from the International Diabetes Federation and the American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The main difference concerns the measure for central obesity, with this being an obligatory component in the International Diabetes Federation definition, lower than in the American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute criteria, and ethnic specific. The present article represents the outcome of a meeting between several major organizations in an attempt to unify criteria. It was agreed that there should not be an obligatory component, but that waist measurement would continue to be a useful preliminary screening tool. Three abnormal findings out of 5 would qualify a person for the metabolic syndrome. A single set of cut points would be used for all components except waist circumference, for which further work is required. In the interim, national or regional cut points for waist circumference can be used.

To establish a unified working diagnostic tool for the metabolic syndrome (MetS) that is convenient to use in clinical practice and that can be used world-wide so that data from different countries can be compared. An additional aim was to highlight areas where more research into the MetS is needed. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) convened a workshop held 12-14 May 2004 in London, UK. The 21 participants included experts in the fields of diabetes, public health, epidemiology, lipidology, genetics, metabolism, nutrition and cardiology. There were participants from each of the five continents as well as from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Cholesterol Education Program-Third Adult Treatment Panel (ATP III). The workshop was sponsored by an educational grant from AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals. The consensus statement emerged following detailed discussions at the IDF workshop. After the workshop, a writing group produced a consensus statement which was reviewed and approved by all participants. The IDF has produced a new set of criteria for use both epidemiologically and in clinical practice world-wide with the aim of identifying people with the MetS to clarify the nature of the syndrome and to focus therapeutic strategies to reduce the long-term risk of cardiovascular disease. Guidance is included on how to compensate for differences in waist circumference and in regional adipose tissue distribution between different populations. The IDF has also produced recommendations for additional criteria that should be included when studying the MetS for research purposes. Finally, the IDF has identified areas where more studies are currently needed; these include research into the aetiology of the syndrome.

Introduction Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of cardiometabolic risk factors associated with increased risk of multiple chronic diseases, including cancer and cardiovascular disease. The objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome overall, by race and sex, and to assess trends in prevalence from 1988 through 2012. Methods We analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for 1988 through 2012. We defined metabolic syndrome as the presence of at least 3 of these components: elevated waist circumference, elevated triglycerides, reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high blood pressure, and elevated fasting blood glucose. Data were analyzed for 3 periods: 1988–1994, 1999–2006, and 2007–2012. Results Among US adults aged 18 years or older, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome rose by more than 35% from 1988–1994 to 2007–2012, increasing from 25.3% to 34.2%. During 2007–2012, non-Hispanic black men were less likely than non-Hispanic white men to have metabolic syndrome (odds ratio [OR], 0.77; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.66–0.89). However, non-Hispanic black women were more likely than non-Hispanic white women to have metabolic syndrome (OR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.02–1.40). Low education level (OR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.32–1.84) and advanced age (OR, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.67–1.80) were independently associated with increased likelihood of metabolic syndrome during 2007–2012. Conclusion Metabolic syndrome prevalence increased from 1988 to 2012 for every sociodemographic group; by 2012, more than a third of all US adults met the definition and criteria for metabolic syndrome agreed to jointly by several international organizations.