Table 1.

Comparison of the various definitions of metabolic syndrome in general populations

	WHO, 1998 [4]	EGIR, 1999 [6]	NCEP ATPIII, 2001 [7]	IDF, 2005 [1]
Insulin resistance	Known dysglycaemia (diabetes/IFG/IGT) and/or insulin resistance	Insulin resistance	–	–
	Plus ≥2 of the following:	Plus ≥2 of the following:	≥3 of the following:
Obesity	BMI >30 kg/m2 or waist-to-hip ratio for men: >0.9; for women: >0.85	Waist circumference for men: ≥94 cm; for women: ≥80 cm	Waist circumference for men: >102 cm; for women: >88 cm	Waist circumference for men: ≥94 cm; for women: ≥80 cm (a prerequisite)
				Plus ≥2 of the following:
Dyslipidaemia	TG: ≥1.7 mmol/L; or HDL-C for men: <0.9 mmol/L; for women: <1.0 mmol/L	TG: >2.0 mmol/L; or HDL-C: <1.0 mmol/L	TG: ≥1.7 mmol/L	TG: ≥1.7 mmol/L
			Low HDL-C: <1.0 mmol/L in men; or <1.3 mmol/L in women	Low HDL-C: <1.0 mmol/L in men; or <1.3 mmol/L in women
Hypertension	On treatment or BP: ≥160/ 90 mmHga	On treatment or BP ≥140/ 90 mmHg	On treatment or BP ≥130/ 85 mmHg	On treatment or BP ≥130/ 85 mmHg
Microalbuminuria	Urinary albumin excretion ≥20 μg/min or albumin:creatinine ratio ≥20 mg/g	–	–	–
Dysglycaemia		Fasting PG ≥6.1 mmol/L	Fastingb PG ≥6.1 mmol/L	Fasting PG ≥5.6 mmol/L

WHO, World Health Organization; EGIR, European Group for the study of Insulin Resistance; NCEP ATP III, National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III; AACE, American Association of Clinical Endocrinology; IDF, International Diabetes Federation; IFG, impaired fasting glucose; IGT, impaired glucose tolerance; BMI, body mass index; TG, triglyceride; HDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; BP, blood pressure; PG, plasma glucose; OGTT, oral glucose tolerance test.

^aBP cutoff value of the WHO 1998 criteria was revised to 140/90 mmHg in 1999 [5].

^bFasting PG cutoff level of the NCEP ATPIII 2001 criteria was modified to 5.6 mmol/L in 2005 [8].