Table 3. Risk factor flow for the 39 most important links.
| Rank | Risk factor cluster from baseline to follow-up | Change in number of MetS components | Total flow (%) |
| 1 | Healthy Healthy | = | 8.2 |
| 2 | Obesity & BP Obesity & BP | = | 6.9 |
| 3 | Obesity & BP Obesity, HDL & BP | + | 6.3 |
| 4 | BP BP | = | 4.6 |
| 5 | Healthy HDL | = | 3.5 |
| 6 | Obesity, HDL, TG, BP Obesity, HDL, TG & BP | = | 2.9 |
| 7 | Obesity, TG & BP Obesity, HDL, TG & BP | + | 2.6 |
| 8 | Obesity, HDL & BP Obesity, HDL & BP | = | 2.5 |
| 9 | BP Obesity & BP | + | 2.2 |
| 10 | Healthy BP | = | 2.1 |
| 11 | Obesity & BP Obesity, HDL, TG & BP | + | 1.9 |
| 12 | BP HDL & BP | + | 1.8 |
| 13 | BP Obesity, HDL & BP | + | 1.8 |
| 14 | BP Healthy | = | 1.7 |
| 15 | Obesity Obesity & HDL | + | 1.7 |
| 16 | Healthy Obesity | = | 1.6 |
| 17 | Obesity, TG & BP Obesity, HDL & BP | = | 1.6 |
| 18 | Obesity Obesity | = | 1.5 |
| 19 | Obesity, TG & BP Obesity & BP | − | 1.5 |
| 20 | Obesity, HDL, TG & BP Obesity, HDL & BP | − | 1.2 |
| 21 | HDL HDL | = | 1.1 |
| 22 | Healthy Obesity & HDL | + | 0.9 |
| 23 | Obesity Obesity & BP | + | 0.9 |
| 24 | BP HDL | = | 0.9 |
| 25 | Obesity, HDL & BP Obesity, HDL, TG, & BP | + | 0.9 |
| 26 | Obesity Obesity, HDL & BP | + | 0.9 |
| 27 | Obesity, HDL, TG, BP & Glucose Obesity, HDL, TG, BP & Glucose | = | 0.8 |
| 28 | Obesity & BP Obesity | − | 0.8 |
| 29 | Obesity & HDL Obesity & HDL | = | 0.7 |
| 30 | HDL & BP HDL & BP | = | 0.7 |
| 31 | Obesity, HDL, TG & BP Obesity, HDL, TG, BP & Glucose | + | 0.6 |
| 32 | Obesity, BP & Glucose Obesity, HDL, BP & Glucose | + | 0.6 |
| 33 | BP HDL, TG & BP | + | 0.6 |
| 34 | Obesity & BP Obesity & HDL | = | 0.6 |
| 35 | Obesity, TG, BP & Glucose Obesity, HDL, TG, BP & Glucose | + | 0.6 |
| 36 | Healthy Obesity & BP | + | 0.5 |
| 37 | Obesity & HDL Obesity, HDL & BP | + | 0.5 |
| 38 | Healthy Obesity, HDL & BP | + | 0.5 |
| 39 | Obesity, TG & BP Obesity, TG & BP | = | 0.5 |
These 39 most important links represent 13% of all 301 links covering 84.5% of the total flow.
“Obesity”, waist circumference: men >94 cm, women >80 cm;
“Glucose”, elevated glucose: ≥8.0 mmol/l or antidiabetic treatment;
“HDL”, decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol: men <1.0 mmol/l, women <1.3 mmol/l, or lipid-lowering treatment;
“TG”, elevated non-fasting triglycerides: ≥2.3 mmol/l or lipid-lowering treatment;
“BP”, elevated blood pressure: ≥130/85 mmHg or antihypertensive drug treatment.