Clinical meaning
Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of interconnected metabolic abnormalities that significantly increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, stroke, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The syndrome is diagnosed when a patient meets at least three of five diagnostic criteria established by the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III): elevated waist circumference (greater than 102 cm or 40 inches in males, greater than 88 cm or 35 inches in females), elevated triglycerides (150 mg/dL or greater, or 1.7 mmol/L or greater), reduced HDL cholesterol (less than 40 mg/dL or 1.0 mmol/L in males, less than 50 mg/dL or 1.3 mmol/L in females), elevated blood pressure (130/85 mmHg or greater, or on antihypertensive therapy), and elevated fasting glucose (100 mg/dL or greater, or 5.6 mmol/L or greater, or on glucose-lowering therapy). The central pathophysiological mechanism is insulin resistance, a condition in which peripheral tissues (skeletal muscle, liver, and adipose tissue) have a diminished biological response to normal insulin concentrations. When insulin-sensitive tissues fail to respond adequately, the pancreatic beta cells compensate by producing more...