Performance of Anthropometric Indicators in the Prediction of Metabolic Syndrome in the Elderly

Introduction: Studies have demonstrated the relevance of anthropometric indicators in the prediction of metabolic syndrome (MetS). However, researches involving older people are still scarce. Therefore, the objective was to describe the frequency of MetS and to determine the performance of anthropometric indicators as predictors of MetS in the total sample, in men and women. Methods: Cross-sectional study involving 479 elderly individuals attended in primary health care. The revised National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATPIII) guidelines were used for the MetS diagnosis. The anthropometric indicators evaluated were neck circumference, sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD), SAD/height, sagittal index, and conicity index (C-Index). The predictive performance of the MetS anthropometric indicators was determined using a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. A cutoff point >0.700 was used to evaluate diagnostic performance. Results: The frequency of MetS was 60.5%. The anthropometric indicators demonstrating adequate performance were in total sample: SAD/height (auROC = 0.810), SAD (auROC = 0.777), and C-Index (auROC = 0.706); in women: SAD (auROC = 0.820), SAD/height (auROC = 0.810), neck circumference (auROC = 0.782), and C-Index (auROC = 0.727); in men: SAD/height (auROC = 0.768), SAD (auROC = 0.760), and C-Index (auROC = 0.724). Conclusions: A high frequency of MetS was observed. Of the five anthropometric indicators investigated, three presented good performance in the total sample (SAD, SAD/height, and C-Index), four in women (SAD, SAD/height, neck circumference, and C-Index), and three in men (SAD, SAD/height, and C-Index). The anthropometric indicators, SAD, SAD/height, and C-Index, proved to perform adequately in all the three segments investigated.