From the metabolic syndrome to the concept of global cardiometabolic risk

Abstract

Although the clustering of cardiovascular risk factors is unquestionable, the clinical significance of the metabolic syndrome as a distinct entity has been debated in the past years. Recently, the term ‘metabolic syndrome’ has been replaced by ‘global cardiometabolic risk’ which implies cardiovascular risk factors beyond the metabolic syndrome. The metabolic syndrome can be frequently detected among people in western and developing countries affecting 25-30% of adult population, and its prevalence rate is increasing. Prospective studies show that the metabolic syndrome is a significant predictor of incident diabetes but has a weaker association with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. At the same time the metabolic syndrome is inferior to established predicting models for either type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease.The underlying pathomechanism of the metabolic syndrome is still poorly understood. The role of insulin resistance – although not as a single factor – is still considered as a key component. In the last decade the importance of abdominal obesity has received increased attention but some studies, mainly in the Asian population, showed that central obesity is not an essential component of the syndrome. Regardless of the theoretical debates the practical implications are indisputable. The frequent clustering of hypertension, dyslipidaemia and glucose intolerance, that often accompanies central obesity, can not be ignored. Following the detection of one risk factor, the presence of other, traditional and non-traditional factors should be searched for, as the beneficial effect of intensive, target oriented, continuous treatment of metabolic and cardiovascular risk factors has been proven in both the short and long term.