Does a diagnosis of metabolic syndrome have value in clinical practice?
Grundy SM Center for Human Nutrition and the Department of Clinical Nutrition, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, TX 75390-9052, USA. scott.grundy@utsouthwestern.edu “The metabolic syndrome” is the name for a clustering of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes that are of metabolic origin. These risk factors consist of atherogenic dyslipidemia, elevated blood pressure, elevated plasma glucose, a prothrombotic state, and a proinflammatory state. There are 2 major, interacting causes of the metabolic syndrome-obesity and endogenous metabolic susceptibility. The latter typically is manifested by insulin resistance. The metabolic syndrome is accompanied by a 2-fold increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease and a 5-fold increase in the risk of type 2 diabetes. A clinical diagnosis of the metabolic syndrome is useful because it affects therapeutic strategy in patients at higher risk. However, there are 2 views about the best therapeu
