Figure 1

Relationship between cholesterol efflux capacity and MetS criteria. A, Patients with MetS were categorized based on the presence of the indicated specific MetS component. B, Cholesterol efflux capacity as a function of the number of MetS components. MetS0: patients without out any MetS component; MetS 1: patients with 1 MetS component. MetS 2: patients with 2 MetS components; MetS 3: patients with 3 MetS components; MetS 4–5: patients with 4 or 5 criteria of MetS were merged in a single group. Cholesterol efflux capacity represents cholesterol efflux from cholesterol‐loaded human THP‐1 macrophages determined after 4 hours at 37°C in the presence of 40‐fold diluted serum as a cellular cholesterol acceptor and is expressed as relative efflux. *Significantly different from patients without any MetS component. HDL‐C indicates high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol; MetS, metabolic syndrome; TG, triglycerides.