TABLE 1.

Characteristics of the Costa Rican adult population according to MetS status (n = 2152)¹

	MetS
Variables	Yes (n = 770)	No (n = 1382)	P
Age	61 ± 102	57 ± 12	<0.001
Sex, % female	39.4	19.6	<0.001
Individual admixture proportion, %
European	57.4	58.0	0.14
American Indian	38.6	38.2	0.21
West African	3.96	3.84	0.45
Urban residence, %	38.7	40.2	0.51
Income, US $/mo	567 ± 423	570 ± 428	0.92
Waist:hip ratio	0.97 ± 0.08	0.94 ± 0.07	<0.001
Current smoker, %	15.1	25.1	<0.001
EE on daily activity, MET/d	33.4 ± 13.1	36.7 ± 17.4	<0.001
Dietary variables
Total energy intake, Mcal/d	2.37 ± 0.772	2.50 ± 0.763	<0.001
Total fat, % energy	32.0 ± 5.41	31.8 ± 6.10	0.29
Saturated fat, % energy	10.4 ± 2.61	10.4 ± 2.73	0.68
Monounsaturated fat, % energy	11.8 ± 3.51	11.9 ± 4.11	0.45
Polyunsaturated fat, % energy	6.38 ± 2.08	6.10 ± 1.98	0.002
Trans fat, % energy	1.35 ± 0.65	1.30 ± 0.64	0.10
Carbohydrate, % energy	55.2 ± 6.96	55.5 ± 7.54	0.38
Protein, % energy	13.3 ± 2.20	12.8 ± 2.07	<0.001
Cholesterol, g/d	0.29 ± 0.17	0.30 ± 0.17	0.20
Fatty acids in adipose tissue: g/100 g total fatty acid
Stearic acid, 18:0	2.45 ± 0.85	2.92 ± 1.02	<0.001
Oleic acid, 18:1(n-9)	42.3 ± 2.96	42.1 ± 3.18	0.14
Palmitic acid, 16:0	21.0 ± 2.75	21.5 ± 2.74	<0.001
Palmitoleic acid, 16:1(n-7)	7.18 ± 2.28	6.30 ± 2.11	<0.001
ALA, 18:3(n-3)	0.62 ± 0.20	0.67 ± 0.21	<0.001
EPA, 20:5(n-3)	0.042 ± 0.022	0.038 ± 0.021	<0.001
DHA, 22:6(n-3)	0.152 ± 0.053	0.139 ± 0.052	<0.001
Linoleic acid, 18:2(n-6)	15.3 ± 3.70	15.7 ± 3.87	0.05
Arachidonic acid, 20:4(n-6)	0.52 ± 0.13	0.44 ± 0.14	<0.001
Components of MetS, %
Abdominal obesity	53	5	<0.001
Hypertriglyceridemia	91	58	<0.001
Low HDL cholesterol	86	51	<0.001
High BP	80	23	<0.001
High fasting glucose	36	5	<0.001

¹Values are mean ± SD. Using the definition from the National Cholesterol Education Program's Adult treatment Panel III report. ALA, α-linolenic acid; BP, blood pressure; EE, energy expenditure; MetS, metabolic syndrome; MET, metabolic equivalent.