RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: to determine the impact of lipid serum abnormalities and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) in healthy adults. METHODS: a cross-sectional, prospective and observational study in apparently healthy adults aged 20 to 60 years who had at least three of the following criteria: abdominal obesity (waist circumference > 102 cm in men and > 88 cm in women), triglycerides ≥ 150 mg/dL, HDL cholesterol < 40 mg/dL in men and < 50 mg/dL in women, blood pressure ≥ 130/85 mmHg and fasting glucose ≥ 110 mg/dL). RESULTS: the prevalence of MS was 20 %, being higher in women (67.7 %) than men (32.3 %). However, no dependence was found with gender (χ(2)= 2.059, p = 0.151). The age range with a higher prevalence of was 45-49 years. Low HDL cholesterol [HR = 11,059 (3.559, 34.610) p < 0.01], was present in 67.9 % of women and hypertriglyceridemia [HR = 15.53 (4.975, 48.513) p < 0.01] was present in 60.5 % of men. CONCLUSIONS: the results suggested that hypertriglyceridemia and hypoalphalipoproteinemia are high impact factors for MS in adults.