Abstract
The combination of a masculine type of fat distribution, hypertension, atherosclerosis, and type 2 diabetes mellitus occurs more often in individuals than on the basis of chance alone. Two reasons to call a clustering of clinical signs and symptoms a syndrome are that this leads to improved diagnosis and prognosis in individuals and that the syndrome provides insight into the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms. However, individuals with the metabolic syndrome have no appreciably higher risk of coronary disease than would be expected from the presence of the individual risk factors. In addition, individuals with the syndrome may manifest many different subsets of risk factors, a sign of obscure pathophysiology. Finally, there is no treatment for the metabolic syndrome other than treatment for each of its components. Therefore, the metabolic syndrome does not exist.
Translated title of the contribution | The metabolic syndrome does not exist |
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Original language | Dutch |
Pages (from-to) | 812 |
Journal | Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde |
Volume | 151 |
Issue number | 14 |
Publication status | Published - 7 Apr 2007 |
Keywords
- Coronary Disease
- Diagnosis, Differential
- Humans
- Metabolic Syndrome X
- Prognosis
- Risk Factors
- Comment
- English Abstract
- Journal Article