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The Metabolic Syndrome (MetS)

WHAT IS THE "METABOLIC SYNDROME"?

 

Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) is a set of risk factors which significantly increase the chance of developing diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Proper dietary changes, weight loss and exercise may help improve and defer Metabolic Syndrome, and perhaps even reverse its process. Other names given to this condition include insulin resistance syndrome, dysmetabolic syndrome, and Syndrome X. According to a US national health survey (NHANES 1988-2012), more than 1 in 5 Americans have Metabolic Syndrome. Its incidence increases with age, and among those in their 60s and 70s, it affects more than 40%. For the Asia-Pacific region, in a systematic review it has been noted that "in most countries nearly 1/5th of the adult population or more were affected by Metabolic Syndrome with a secular increase in prevalence." A systematic review done among the young in 2020 showed that globally, about 3% of children and 5% of adolescents had Metabolic Syndrome, with some variation across countries and regions.

Based on WHO estimates, Metabolic Syndrome and all its associated complications cause the greatest number of non-communicable disease deaths worldwide. To make the long story short, METABOLIC SYNDROME is the No. 1 killer in the world today! We all have to wake up to the truth: it is an URGENT PROBLEM the whole world is currently facing!


WHO TYPICALLY HAS THE "METABOLIC SYNDROME"?

 


WHAT CAUSES THE "METABOLIC SYNDROME"?

 

As of the present, the exact cause of Metabolic Syndrome is not yet totally known. However, a lot of its features are associated with "insulin resistance" or “carbohydrate intolerance.” Insulin resistance is a state wherein certain cells of the body (e.g. the muscle cell) do not efficiently use insulin for glucose uptake. Thus, high blood glucose levels persist, and some of them are converted to triglycerides in the liver via de novo lipogenesis (DNL), which leads to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) or metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), and with excess triglycerides going to the bloodstream elevating the triglyceride levels in the blood. Insulin resistance may be due to a combination of genetic and lifestyle factors. Included among these lifestyle factors are dietary habits (especially diets high in refined carbohydrates such as sugars and flour-containing products and habitual frequent eating especially with carbohydrate-rich foods even when not hungry) that lead to chronic excessive glucose levels beyond what the body demands for its energy needs, lack of regular physical activity/exercise and perhaps even interrupted sleep patterns (such as that seen in sleep apnea) or lack of sufficient restful sleep.


WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF THE "METABOLIC SYNDROME"?

 

There are usually no immediate physical symptoms in metabolic syndrome. However, medical problems associated with the insulin resistance of this syndrome and its corresponding complications may develop over time and themselves present with clinical symptoms. Your health care provider who is familiar with metabolic syndrome will make the diagnosis by obtaining the necessary tests, including blood pressure monitoring, waist circumference monitoring, blood glucose, serum insulin, and lipid profile (triglycerides and HDL).


HOW IS THE "METABOLIC SYNDROME" DIAGNOSED?

 

Metabolic Syndrome is diagnosed if you have any three or more of the following five criteria from the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and the American Heart Association (AHA):


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WHAT TESTS CAN YOU REQUEST YOUR DOCTOR TO PERFORM TO HELP YOU FIND OUT IF YOU HAVE THE "METABOLIC SYNDROME"?


HOW TO PREVENT, IMPROVE OR REVERSE THE "METABOLIC SYNDROME"?


WHAT ARE SPECIFIC WAYS TO REDUCE YOUR RISK OF OR REVERSE THE PROCESS LEADING TO THE "METABOLIC SYNDROME"?


FOR PATIENTS WITH THE "METABOLIC SYNDROME" WHAT HEALTH PROBLEMS MIGHT DEVELOP?

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