Metabolic syndrome

The metabolic syndrome is defined by the World Health Organisation using the following criteria :

• Insulin resistance, identified by one of the following:
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Impaired fasting glucose
  • Impaired glucose tolerance
  • or, for those with normal fasting glucose levels (<110mg/dL), glucose uptake below the lowest quartile for background population under investigation under hyperinsulinemic, euglycemic conditions
• in conjunction with any two of the following:
  • Antihypertensive medication and/or high blood pressure (≥140mmHg systolic or ≥90mmHg diastolic)
  • Plasma triglycerides ≥150mg/dL (≥1.7mmol/L)
  • HDL cholesterol <35mg/dL (0.9mmol/L) in men or <39mg/dL (1.0mmol/L) in women
  • BMI (Body Mass Index) >30kg/m² and/or waist:hip ratio >0.9 in men, >0.85 in women
  • Urinary albumin excretion rate ≥20μmg/g or albumin: creatinine ratio ≥30 mg/g.

The insulin resistance syndrome is a "constellation of findings, including central obesity, glucose intolerance, dyslipidemia, and hypertension, that promotes the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, cancer, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease".

As obesity has reached epidemic proportions in many countries of the developed world, a pattern of these findings has become recognized. Also called the metabolic syndrome, the dysmetabolic syndrome, or syndrome X, this association of physiologic findings is the focus of current research in medicine.