Hypertension and the insulin-related metabolic syndrome: Factor analysis in 17,539 Taiwanese

Background: Hypertension is a component of the insulin resistance-related metabolic syndrome. However, the relationship between insulin resistance and hypertension remains unclear. Factor analysis is a statistical technique that extracts several unrelated components from a set of intercorrelated risk variables. Risk variables contributing to the same component may share the same pathophysiological process. Methods: Risk variables from 17,539 Taiwanese (8516 men and 9023 women, aged 30 years and older) randomly selected from a large physical checkup database were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis with principal components method. Results: Factor analysis identified two independent factors for men and women, respectively. In men, a cluster of triglycerides, high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol, waist circumference, and body mass index (metabolic syndrome) accounted for 42%, and a cluster of glucose, systolic blood pressure, waist circumference, and body mass index (hyperglycemia plus hypertension plus obesity) accounted for 19% of the total variance in all variables considered. In women, a cluster of glucose, systolic blood pressure, waist circumference, and body mass index (hyperglycemia plus hypertension plus obesity) accounted for 46%, and a cluster of triglycerides, high-density- lipoprotein cholesterol, waist circumference, and body mass index (metabolic syndrome) accounted for 17% of the total variance. Conclusion: A distinct insulin-resistance-related metabolic syndrome was observed for both men and women in Taiwan. Hypertension was probably linked to the metabolic syndrome through obesity in both Taiwanese men and women.