After exclusion of 23 transgender individuals and 31 of those who tested positive for cocaine or methamphetamines, the sample for this analysis included a total of 296 HIV-infected participants. The demographic and clinical characteristics are described in . A total of 267 individuals had sufficient data to enable an evaluation of presence or absence of metabolic syndrome. Compared to the 187 participants without metabolic syndrome, those categorized as having metabolic syndrome (
n
=

80) were older, had a lower viral load, and fewer were taking NRTI ART. There were no differences in CD4 count. A third of participants had been diagnosed with hepatitis C, but there was no difference in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome. The percentage of those taking hormone or steroid therapy was also similar. Although almost twice as many participants with metabolic syndrome were taking lipid-controlling medication, this was not a statistically significant finding. The overall frequency of reported alcohol use was similar. Those with metabolic syndrome were at almost twice the risk of developing coronary heart disease (CHD), as assessed using the Framingham 10-year percentage risk scores compared to those without (see ), with a mean difference in the scores of 4.43 [95% confidence interval (CI) 2.99–5.88;
P
<

0.001]. If we had used the new interim guidelines for defining metabolic syndrome,
13 with the cut point of 100

mg/dL for fasting glucose, 5 additional participants would have met the criteria.
| Table 1.Demographic Characteristics of Study Participants, HIV Status, and Medication History |
There were significant differences in the racial/ethnic composition between male and female participants (). Women had a higher mean BMI than men, which was reflected in a higher percentage of men with normal weight (48.4%) compared to women (29.1%), and a higher frequency of obesity among women (39.2%) compared to men (15.7%). The percentages of those who were overweight (BMI values, 25–29.9 kg/m
2) were similar between men and women (). Both waist-to-hip ratio, and waist-to-thigh ratio were higher in men than women. We found, in men, that the waist-to-thigh ratio was strongly associated with the presence of diabetes. The ratios in diabetics and nondiabetics were 2.14

±

0.21 (
n
=

13) and 1.87

±

0.20 (
n
=

203), respectively (
P
<

0.001). There was a less pronounced effect in women with the ratio in diabetics being 1.91

±

0.25 (
n
=

9) and nondiabetics 1.75

±

0.22 (
n
=

70) (
P
=

0.041).
| Table 2.Characteristics of Study Participants by Sex: All Participants |
Although there was no difference in systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure was higher in men (). There was no sex difference in the frequency of diabetes or smoking. Although the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was similar for men (28.1%) and women (35.3%), there were significant differences in the underlying parameters that define this disorder. Women were more likely to have metabolic syndrome than men because of relatively high waist circumference or raised levels of glucose, whereas men were more likely to have elevated TGs. The prevalence of low HDL-C was similar between the sexes. Overall, 63.3% of participants had a total of two or more metabolic abnormalities; 59.9% of men and 72.5% of women (
P
=

0.064). Similarly, 11.0% had a total of four or more metabolic abnormalities—9.5% of men and 15.3% of women (
P
=

0.180). Men reported a higher alcohol use than women, but this difference was not significant (15.2% among men and 7.6% among women,
P
=

0.087; data not shown).
Both male and female participants had similar levels of TC [191

±

52 vs. 190

±

45

mg/dL, respectively; not significant]. These values are lower than those of comparable age and sex in the U.S. population at large
21; TC was 10% lower in our sample of men and 8% lower in our sample of women. Male and female participants also have similar levels of LDL-C (110

±

37 vs. 114

±

35

mg/dL, respectively; N.S.). These values are lower than the U.S. population at large
21; LDL-C was 23% lower in our sample of men and 12% lower in our sample of women.
We calculated the 10-year Framingham CHD risk scores
20 ()and found a difference, as expected, between men (7.6

±

5.4%) and women (4.6

±

5.4%;
P
<

0.001). Occurrence of smoking, one of the major factors influencing the score, was similar between men and women. The relative risk was calculated by dividing an individual's risk score by the average value for a person of the same sex and age in the Framingham population.
20 We found that men had somewhat lower relative risk (0.87

±

0.52) than women (1.03

±

0.71), but this was not statistically different ().
The occurrence of metabolic syndrome was not significantly different among the four ethnic/racial groups: Caucasians

=

27.0%; African Americans

=

28.7%; Hispanic/Latinos

=

34.6%; others

=

41.4% (
P
=

0.457). The overall 10-year CHD risk was also similar: Caucasians

=

7.4

±

5.8%; African Americans

=

6.0

±

5.4%; Hispanic/Latino

=

5.8

±

3.5%; others

=

7.6

±6.1% (
P
=

0.162).
Logistic regression analysis showed that with men age was the only significant and strong predictor of odds for having metabolic syndrome. The model only explained 3.5% of the variance for having metabolic syndrome. For women, age was not a predictor. Regression analysis allowed an examination of the extent to which ethnicity confounded the differences seen between men and women. With the exception of frequency of elevated TGs, the differences in parameters between the sexes seen in were still highly significant after accounting for ethnicity. The waist-to-thigh ratio was lower among African Americans, in both men and women, compared to all other ethnicities. The waist-to- hip ratio was also lower, but only in African-American men when compared to men of other ethnicities. Diastolic blood pressure was higher among African-American women compared to women of other ethnicities. The frequency of elevated TGs was lower among African Americans compared to other ethnicities, and within each ethnic group there were no sex differences.
To compare the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and CHD risk scores in younger and older participants, the sample was dichotomized to less than 50 years of age and 50 years of age or older. The differences in ethnic/racial origin were more pronounced in the younger group ()compared to the older group (). The relative sex differences in BMI, neck circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, and waist-to-thigh ratio observed in the total population were seen in both the younger and older groups. The higher diastolic blood pressure among men was more pronounced among older participants. There was a trend toward a higher occurrence of diabetes in younger women (9.3%) compared to younger men (2.6%;
P
=

0.057). The prevalence of diabetes in men and women was similar in the older group of participants. The proportion of those who smoked was higher in younger men (60.4%) compared to older men (42.2%;
P
=

0.014), and there was a similar trend among women (61.5% vs 40.0%;
P
=

0.076). Although there was no significant difference in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome between males and females in either age group, the occurrence in older men was nearly doubled (41.0%) compared to younger men (22.5%,
P
=

0.007). In older women, although the prevalence was higher than in younger women (47.4% vs 30.6%), it was not significantly so (
P
=

0.194).
| Table 3.Characteristics of Study Participants by Sex: Participants under 50 Years of Age |
| Table 4.Characteristics of Study Participants by Sex: Participants 50 Years of Age or Over |
There were some differences between the two age groups in the parameters that define the metabolic syndrome. As in the total population, more women had elevated levels of glucose than men of a similar age. In the younger group, there was a pronounced effect, with three times more women affected than men (36.4% vs. 12.5%,
P
=

0.002) (). However, there was no significant sex difference in the older group. Whereas the percentage of participants, both male and female, with a high waist circumference increased with age, the large sex disparity was maintained, with three times as many women in the younger group and over twice as many in the older group affected ( and ). There were more men in the under 50-year-old group with raised TGs (46.7%) than women (26.4%;
P
=

0.010). There was no significant sex difference in the older group. As with the overall cohort, in the two age groups, there were no significant sex differences in the prevalence of decreased levels of HDL-C or of elevated blood pressure, nor were there changes in these parameters with age.
The FCR CHD score in younger men was double that seen in younger women (). This sex difference was not seen in the older age group, but the score increased in older versus younger men (10.9

±

6.7 vs. 6.2

±

4.1;
p
<

0.001) and older versus younger women (8.5

±

7.8 vs. 2.7

±

1.7;
P
<

0.001). The occurrence of high CHD risk scores (over 10%) in younger men compared to younger women was particularly striking; whereas 8.4% of men were in this category, there were no women in this category (
P
=

0.031). In older participants, both males and females, the proportion with risk scores over 10% had risen sharply and there was no longer any difference by sex (32.8% vs. 32.0%). Virtually absent in the younger age group, the frequency of individual risk scores over 20% was similar in older men (10.3%) and older women (12.0%).