prevalence of metabolic syndrome in adult females: comparison between iranian national definition and currently used international criteria

background: the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (mets) is increasing worldwide. limited data are available trying to compare different definitions suggested to identify mets. this study aimed to compare the prevalence of mets and its components based on currently available international and iranian national definitions. methods: the present cross-sectional study was conducted in 2015 among female teachers residing in yazd city. demographic data and information on physical activity, participants’ education, economic status and number of deliveries were gathered using self-administered questionnaires. anthropometric measurements and serum lipid profile were assessed according to standard procedures. mets was defined based on international diabetes federation (idf), national cholesterol education program; adult treatment panel iii (ncep, atpiii), and iranian national definition. results: a total number of 450 participants aged 40.60±8.25 years were included in this analysis. prevalence of mets based on atpiii definition, idf definition, and iranian modified definition were 39.11%, 40.89%, and 31.11%, respectively. prevalence of mets among women aged over 50 years was more than those aged 20-50 years (p < 0.001). based on different definitions, women with higher physical activity had lower prevalence of mets (base on atpiii, p=0.036). prevalence of mets also was higher in women with more deliveries (for three definitions, p < 0.001). conclusions: the prevalence of mets was high in female teachers living in central province of iran. it seems that atpiii and iranian national criteria can better represent the differences in the prevalence of mets. large scale prospective studies are recommended to confirm our results.