Metabolic
syndrome has a negative impact on CV health and mortality
Although
it has been widely assumed that the metabolic syndrome is associated with an
increased risk of cardiovascular disease, relatively little research has been
done on the prevalence of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in patients
with the syndrome.
Isomaa and
colleagues assessed cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in a cohort of
subjects (N=3606; age, 35 to 70 years) participating in a longitudinal study
in Finland and Sweden (the Botnia study). Median follow-up was 6.9 years.
Subjects
meeting the definition of metabolic syndrome were significantly more likely to
have a history of CHD, myocardial infarction, and stroke than those without
the syndrome. The presence of metabolic syndrome was associated with
significantly increased risk of CHD (RR, 2.96, p<0.001), myocardial
infarction (RR 2.63, P<0.001), and stroke (RR 2.27, p<0.001).
Overall,
individuals with the metabolic syndrome were therefore 2–3-fold more likely to
die from an adverse cardiovascular event than individuals without the
metabolic syndrome.
People
with the metabolic syndrome are at increased risk of being twice as likely to
die from and tree times as likely to have a heart attack or stroke compared to
people without metabolic syndrome.
Isomaa B,
Almaren P, Tuomi T, et al. Cardiovascular morbidity and mortality associated
with the metabolic syndrome. Diabetes Care 2001;24:683-689.