SOARES, Elvira Maria Mafaldo et al. Prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and its components in Brazilian women with polycystic ovary syndrome. Fertility and Sterility, v.89, n.3, p.649-655, mar. 2008Objective: To determine the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components in Brazilian women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: University Hospital, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal-RN, Brazil. Patient(s): 102 women with PCOS by the Rotterdam consensus criteria. Intervention(s): None. Main Outcome Measure(s): Clinical and biochemical parameters for MetS as defined by the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel (NCEP ATP III). Result(s): The prevalence for individual components of MetS were high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level <50 mg/dL in 69.6%, waist circumferenceR88 cm in 57.9%, triglyceride levelR150 mg/dL in 31.7%, blood pressure R130/85 mm Hg in 18.6%, and fasting glucose concentrations R110 mg/dL in 2.9%. Three or more of these individual criteria were present in 29 (28.4%) of the patients. The prevalence of MetS increased with body mass index: 3.2%, 19.2% and 52.3% for normal, overweight, and obese women, respectively. Conclusion(s): These findings indicate that Brazilian women with PCOS have a high prevalence of MetS and its individual components, particularly a decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level. Thus, these women are at increased risk of diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease