How about a topic that needs attention and is somewhat controversial? Metabolic Syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is important to understand as it greatly increases risk of multiple disease states, leading to cardiovascular disease and increasing the risk of cardiovascular death. It is found that 1 in 3 adults in the US have metabolic syndrome! AND it is preventable!!! Individuals with metabolic syndrome may have large waist circumference, high blood pressure, insulin resistance (high blood sugar), and high cholesterol. I will dive into more specific criteria below.
A diagnosis of metabolic syndrome may require 3 of the following:
1) large waist circumference or central obesity
2) high blood pressure- defined as systolic (top number) >130 mmHg or diastolic (bottom number) >85 mmHg
3) elevated blood sugar- fasting glucose of 100 mg/dL or greater
4) elevated blood triglycerides- 150 mg/dL or greater
5) low HDL cholesterol- <40 mg/dL for males, <50 mg/dL for females
You may still be wondering the importance of this article. Let me elaborate. Meeting any of the above criteria does not necessarily mean a disease diagnosis. For example, a fasting glucose of 100 or greater does not equal diabetes. An HDL of 25 does not equal high cholesterol. Leaving a doctor’s office without a diagnosis sounds good, but we are potentially missing a subset of people (33%!) who are at significant risk of disease development/progression. Capturing this group and providing education and support has the potential to significantly impact morbidity and mortality in the United States.
So how do we prevent metabolic syndrome? Diet and exercise! See my previous posts “Cholesterol, More Than a Number” and “How to Exercise Effectively” for more information on this. Please comment or email with any questions.
Lindsey, PharmD, BCPS
References:
Huang, P. L. (2009). A comprehensive definition for metabolic syndrome. Disease Models & Mechanisms, 2(5–6), 231–237. https://doi.org/10.1242/dmm.001180
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. What is metabolic syndrome?. National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/metabolic-syndrome
6 responses to “A Silent Killer”
Very helpful article! Thank you.
It is a privilege to help us all live healthier!
It’s that time of day when I need a snack so I’m not starving until dinner. Think I’ll go eat 1/2 an avocado. Better than munching on pretzels. Thanks for the article.
Very informative!!
Thanks Nima! Glad you appreciated the message.
[…] Prediabetes is a serious health condition as it increases the risk of type II diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. It is estimated that more than 1 in 3 adults in America have prediabetes! It is also estimated that >80% of these adults do not know they have prediabetes!!3 Prediabetes is often the starting point for metabolic dysfunction and metabolic syndrome. Check out my recent blog post on metabolic syndrome to learn more. https://lrxwellness.com/a-silent-killer/ […]