Dear editor
We have read the article “Testosterone, obesity, and waist circumference as determinants of metabolic syndrome in Saudi women” by Fatani et al with great interest.1
As per National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines, metabolic syndrome (MS) is diagnosed on the basis of the presence of three or more of the following five criteria: waist circumference (WC) over 40 inches (men) or 35 inches (women), fasting triglyceride (TG) level over 150 mg/ dL, blood pressure (BP) over 130/85 mmHg, fasting blood sugar over 100 mg/dL, and fasting high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol level <40 mg/dL (men) or 50 mg/dL (women).2
Moreover, as per new JNC-8 guidelines, hypertension is defined as BP ≥140/90 mmHg, and in general, SBP value is more than DBP.3 However, in the aforementioned article, SBP was presented as 70.19±3.66 in the control group and 106.62±5.67 in the MS group, and DBP was presented as 113.27±1.17 in the control group and 134.58±2.08 mmHg in the MS group. Specifically, increased DBP is secondary to another disorder of kidney or sleep apnea syndrome and thyroid.4
We would be highly obliged for your kind consideration of the abovementioned clarification in your article to avoid discrepancy and highlight a clear idea of the relationship between testosterone, obesity, and WC in the prediction of MS.
Footnotes
Disclosure
The authors report no conflicts of interest in this communication.
References
- 1.Fatanni SH, Abdelbasit NA, Al-Amodi HS, Mukhtar MM, Babakr AT. Testosterone, obesity, and waist circumference as determinants of metabolic syndrome in Saudi women. Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes. 2018;11:175–181. doi: 10.2147/DMSO.S156021. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 2.Huang PL. A comprehensive definition for metabolic syndrome. Dis Model Mech. 2009;2(5–6):231–237. doi: 10.1242/dmm.001180. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 3.Bell K, Twigg J, Olin BR. Hypertension: The Silent Killer: Updated JNC-8 Guideline Recommendations. [Accessed May 9, 2018]. Available from: http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.aparx.org/resource/resmgr/CEs/CE_Hypertension_The_Silent_K.pdf.
- 4. Livestrong.com Causes of High Diastolic Blood Pressure. [Accessed May 9, 2018]. Available from: https://www.livestrong.com/article/136545-causes-high-diastolic-pressure/