RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: Analyze the influence between the components of metabolic syndrome and the independent risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the elderly. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out with 205 older adults from a primary healthcare unit of the Federal District, Brazil. The cardiovascular risk was determined by the Framingham Risk Score (FRS). The National Cholesterol Evaluation Program for Adult Treatment Panel III 2001 (NCEP-ATP III) criteria were considered to analyze metabolic syndrome (MS) diagnoses. RESULTS: There was a strong association between MS and high cardiovascular risk (OR = 8.86). The univariate analysis main findings revealed that male gender, diabetes, smoking habit, systolic blood pressure, HDL level, high blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin, and LDL level were associated with high cardiovascular risk. FRS increases significantly with the presence of four or more MS components (by 30%, if 4 components are present, and by 40%, if 5 components) when compared with the presence of three or fewer components (P <0.001). A logistic regression analysis of high-risk predictors was described to reduce the effects of confounding and bias factors. CONCLUSION: The identification of MS associated with high FRS values represents a cascading of adverse effects on the population's aging process.