Prevalence of metabolic syndrome in outpatients of the institute of cardiology of Rio Grande do Sul.

BACKGROUND Metabolic syndrome (MS) is considered a very important factor in the development of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). OBJECTIVE To assess the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) in outpatients undergoing secondary prevention of coronary artery disease in the Institute of Cardiology, University Foundation of Cardiology - IC-UFC, as well as to detect excess weight through body mass index (BMI) and the prevalence of abdominal obesity in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). METHODS The final sample was comprised of 151 individuals (aged between 26 and 84 years) whose data were obtained from the first visit in which the following parameters were available: fasting blood tests, blood pressure (BP) measurement, waist circumference (WC) in centimeters, weight and height, gender and age. The NCEP-ATP III criteria were used for the assessment of MS. RESULTS 64.9% of the sample was comprised of males. The overweight and obesity rates found were 50% and 21.3%, respectively; increased WC was found in 30.8% of the individuals, 20 of whom were men and 25 were women. The prevalence of MS, as diagnosed according to the NCEP-ATP III criteria, was 61.5%, including 54 men and 39 women. CONCLUSION We verified that the prevalence of MS in patients with CVD in the outpatient clinic for secondary prevention of CAD at IC-UFC is high, and so are the prevalences of overweight, obesity and increased WC.