Is the Metabolic Syndrome a Discrete Diagnostic Category or the End of a Continuum? Taxometric Evidence for Dimensionality in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2004

Abstract

To determine whether the metabolic syndrome is a discrete diagnostic category or the end of a continuum. The study sample consisted of 3959 individuals from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2004. The taxometric methods of mean above minus mean below a cut (MAMBAC) and maximum covariance (MAXCOV) were used. The primary numerical outcome was the comparative curve fit index (CCFI). For men, the CCFI from MAMBAC and MAXCOV analyses were 0.290 and 0.260, respectively. Likewise, for women, the CCFI from MAMBAC and MAXCOV analyses were 0.317 and 0.311, respectively. The results indicate that the metabolic syndrome is continuously distributed in nature, rather than a discrete diagnostic category.