Metabolic syndrome is not a disease in the traditional sense of the word (although it is included as a disease entity in the international classification of diseases). Its clinical picture depends on diseases and / or symptoms occurring simultaneously in the same person.
According to the International Diabetes Federation, a person with metabolic syndrome is diagnosed with 3 of the following factors:
– abdominal obesity (in Caucasian people the waist circumference in women is 80 cm and more, in men 94 cm and more),
-increased blood pressure: systolic. 130 mmHg or diastolic 85 mmHg, or treatment of previously diagnosed hypertension,
-increased triglycerides: 1,7 mmol / l and above (150 mg / dl and above) or treatment of hypertriglyceridaemia,
– lower concentration of lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL): in men below 1,0 mmol / l (below 40 mg / dl), and in women below 1,3 mmol / l (below 50 mg / dl) ) or treatment of a previously diagnosed disorder,
– fasting glycemia equal to or greater than 100 mg / dL (5,6 mmol / L) or diabetes mellitus.
The effect of the coexistence of several disorders described above is premature and / or accelerated development of atherosclerosis with its most serious consequences – coronary disease, heart attack, stroke and finally premature death.
The metabolic syndrome is very common – the vast majority of patients with type 2 diabetes (around 80%) are overweight or obese, and almost the same number of patients have high blood pressure and / or abnormalities in the composition of blood fats.
The metabolic syndrome often coexists with insulin resistance, a disorder that leads to a number of pathological changes in many organs and systems. Earlier definitions took into account the coexistence of insulin resistance as a factor necessary for the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome, and the cut-off values for individual parameters were slightly different.
The current definition of the metabolic syndrome, it seems, is not final, as new evidence is constantly accumulating confirming the cause-and-effect relationships between its components. Other additional disorders are also included (e.g., increased uric acid levels, coagulation and fibrinolysis disorders, microalbuminuria, hyperhomocysteinemia, and others).
The diagnosis of the metabolic syndrome is based on the presence of the above-mentioned disorders.
Source: A. Cajdler-Łuba, S. Mikosiński, A. Sobieszczańska-Jabłońska, I. Nadel, I. Salata, A. Lewiński: “FUNCTIONAL DIAGNOSTICS OF HORMONAL DISORDERS WITH ELEMENTS OF DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSTICS; Czelej Publishing House