Harmonized criteria for defining metabolic syndrome: 3 or more factors to make a diagnosis
| Metabolic syndrome criteria | Cut-off point* |
|---|---|
| Overweight and obese | BMI ≥ 25† |
| Elevated BP‡ | CPCSSN diagnosis of hypertension or systolic BP ≥ 130 mm Hg or diastolic BP ≥ 85 mm Hg |
| Dysglycemia | CPCSSN diagnosis of diabetes or HbA1c ≥ 6.0% or FBG ≥ 5.6 mmol/L |
| Hypertriglyceridemia | Triglycerides ≥ 1.7 mmol/L |
| Low HDL cholesterol | HDL cholesterol ≥ 1.0 mmol/L in men, ≥ 1.3 mmol/L in women |
Note: BMI = body mass index, BP = blood pressure, CPCSSN = Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network, FBG = fasting blood glucose, HbA1c = hemoglobin A1c, HDL = high-density lipoprotein.
↵* Cut-off points are based on previously established formal criteria for metabolic syndrome, BMI,25 elevated BP, HbA1c and FBG,21 HDL cholesterol and triglycerides,15,18 and CPCSSN disease diagnosis.26
↵† BMI cut-off points for outliers at ≥ 15 and ≥ 50; if BMI is ≥ 30, central obesity can be assumed.
↵‡ BP cut-off points for outliers at 60–300 mm Hg systolic, 30–200 mm Hg diastolic.