Importance of diagnosing and treating the metabolic syndrome in reducing cardiovascular risk.

Applying the criteria for the metabolic syndrome serves as a simple and inexpensive tool for identifying patients at high risk for diabetes and coronary heart disease, particularly those who do not fall into traditional risk categories. Several independent physiological processes underlie the non-random risk-factor clustering that defines the metabolic syndrome, including insulin resistance, central obesity, dyslipidemia, impaired glucose tolerance, and hypertension. Other non-classic risk factors, such as abnormal oxidized low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, adiponectin, and C-reactive protein levels, are highly correlated with the metabolic syndrome. Use of the metabolic syndrome criteria for assessment is comparable with other risk-scoring systems in accurately predicting cardiovascular disease risk and is simpler to implement in the clinic. Further research is needed to define the etiology of the metabolic syndrome.