World Health Organization Collaborating Centre on Nutrition Changes and Development, Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada. helene.delisle@umontreal.ca
According to two current definitions, the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) among black Haitians of Montreal was 45% in Mexicans of Oaxaca (all aged 35-60 y). Although phenotypes were different, high triglycerides and fasting dysglycemia were good predictors of MetS in all three groups using both definitions. The international cut-offs for abdominal obesity were not predictive of MetS in the Haitian subjects.