Total cholesterol and high density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio is associated with metabolic syndrome in a very elderly Chinese population

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is currently a major public health challenge in young, middle aged and elderly population worldwide, but it is still not clear in very elderly population. This study was to investigate the potential association between total cholesterol and high density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (THR) and MetS in a very elderly population in Chengdu. Totally, 1056 very elderly (aged ≥ 80 years) in Chengdu community were enrolled in this study. Geographic characteristics of participants were collected and laboratory measurement was performed. Metabolic syndrome (MetS) was defined according to the Chinese and the international diabetes federation (IDF) criteria, respectively. Logistic analysis was used to investigate the potential association between the THR and MetS. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was used to evaluate the efficiency of THR in MetS predicting. Finally, 1038 participants were included in statistical analysis. The mean age was 83.6 ± 3.4 years and 52.6% participants were men and 21.6% suffered from MetS. Participants with MetS had relatively higher waist circumference, body weight, blood pressure, fast plasma glucose level, non-high density lipoprotein cholesterol level and THR. The logistic analysis revealed that the THR was associated with MetS according to both the Chinese (odds ratio (OR): 3.053, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.464–3.782, P < 0.001) and the IDF criteria (OR: 2.458, 95% CI 2.016–2.995, P < 0.001). ROC analysis found that the area under curve of the THR was 0.800 (95% CI 0.749–0.852, P < 0.001) and 0.727 (95% CI 0.669–0.786, P < 0.001) for predicting MetS according to the Chinese and the IDF criteria, respectively. The THR is associated with MetS in this community very elderly population in Chengdu.