Table 1.

WHO and NCEP ATP III Definition of the Metabolic Syndrome

Characteristic	WHO	NCEP ATP III
Hypertension	Current antihypertensive therapy and/or BP > 140/90	Blood pressure medication or BP >130/85
Dyslipidemia	Plasma triglycerides > 1.7 mmol/L (150 mg/dL) and/or HDL < 0.9 mmol/L (35 mg/dL) in men and < 1.0 mmol/L (< 40 mg/dL) in women	Plasma triglycerides > 150 mg/dL, HDL cholesterol < 40 mg/dL in men and < 50 mg/dL in women.
Obesity	BMI > 30 and/or waist/hip ratio > 0.90 in men and > 0.85 in women	Waist circumference > 40 cm in men and > 50 cm in women
Diabetes	Type 2 diabetes or IGT	Fasting blood sugar > 110 mg/dL*
Other	Microalbuminuria = overnight urinary albumin excretion rate > 20 mcg/min (30 mg/g Cr)
Requirements for Diagnosis	Type 2 diabetes or IGT and any 2 of the above criteria. If normal glucose tolerance is found, 3 other disorders must be present.	Any 3 of the above disorders

Information in the table was obtained from guidelines provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP). BMI denoted body mass index; BP, blood pressure; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; IGT, impaired glucose tolerance.

^*Fasting plasma glucose was recently updated to 100 mg/dL by the American Diabetes Association.