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Background: Several studies hinted about the clustering of risk variables of the metabolic syndrome (MS) and suggested that the underlying genetic polymorphisms could be responsible for the increasing incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) in people of Indian origin. Therefore, identification of the components of the MS along with the genetic factors could be one of the aspects to make an attempt to prevent the increasing incidence of CHD. Materials and Methods: Principal component factor analysis (PCFA) was undertaken to identify the components or factors of the MS among the adult (⩾30 years) Asian Indians living in and around Calcutta, India. The study comprised 350 adult Asian Indians. Anthropometric measurements were taken, and lipid profiles, blood pressure and fasting blood glucose were measured for each participant. Two genetic polymorphisms, namely, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) gene polymorphism (insertion/deletion [I/D]) or ACE (I/D) and apolipoproteinE (Hha I) were also studied. Results: PCFA revealed 3 factors that cumulatively explained 65.39% of the observed variance of the MS by measured variables. The 3 factors identified were lipids and lipoprotein (Factor 1), centripetal fat and blood pressure (Factor 2), and ACE (I/D) polymorphism with blood pressure (Factor 3). Moreover, the first 2 factors, that is, lipids, lipoprotein, centripetal fat, and blood pressures cumulatively explained ∼46% (45.94%) of the observed variance of MS in this population. Conclusions: Since more than 1 factor was identified for the MS phenotype, more than 1 physiogenetic mechanism could be accounted for MS in the Asian Indian population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]