Clinical usefulness of lipid ratios to identify men and women with metabolic syndrome: a cross-sectional study

Background Waist circumference, a metabolic syndrome (MetSy) criterion, is not routinely measured in clinical practice making early identification of individuals with MetSy challenging. It has been argued that ratios of commonly measured parameters such as lipids and lipoproteins may be an acceptable alternative for identifying individuals with MetSy. The objective of our study was to explore clinical utility of lipid ratios to identify men and women with MetSy; and to explore the association between lipid ratios and the number of MetSy components. Methods Men and women (N = 797) of Aboriginal, Chinese, European, and South Asian origin (35–60 years), recruited across ranges of body mass index (BMI), with no diagnosed cardiovascular disease (CVD) or on medications to treat CVD risk factors were assessed for anthropometrics, family history of CVD, MetSy components (waist circumference, blood pressure, glucose, triglycerides (TG), high-density-lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C)), low-density-lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), nonHDL-C, and health-related behaviours. Results Mean levels of lipid ratios significantly increased with increasing number of MetSy components in men and women (p