Who Is At Risk for Metabolic Syndrome?
Youre at greatest risk for metabolic syndrome
if you have these underlying causes:
- A large waistline (abdominal obesity)
- Lack of physical activity
- Insulin resistance
Some people are at risk for metabolic syndrome
because the medicines they take may cause weight gain or changes in blood
pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels. These medicines are most often
used for inflammation, allergies, HIV, and depression and other kinds of mental
illnesses.
Populations Affected
About 47 million adults in the United States (almost
25 percent) have metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is more common in
African American women than in African American men and in Mexican American
women than in Mexican American men. It affects White women and men roughly
equally.
Some racial and ethnic groups in the United States
are more at risk for metabolic syndrome than others. Mexican Americans have the
highest rate of metabolic syndrome (31.9 percent). Caucasians (23.8 percent)
and African Americans (21.6 percent) have lower rates.
Other groups that are at increased risk of
developing metabolic syndrome include:
- People with a sibling or parent with
diabetes
- People with a personal history of diabetes
- Women with a personal history of polycystic
ovarian syndrome (a tendency to develop cysts on the ovaries)
In addition, members of certain ethnic groups are at
increased risk for metabolic syndrome. For example, South Asians have an
increased risk for metabolic syndrome.
Risk for Heart Disease
Having metabolic syndrome increases your risk for
heart disease. Heart disease risk can be divided into short-term risk (the risk
for having a
heart
attack or dying of heart disease in the next 10 years) and long-term risk
(the risk for developing heart disease over your lifetime).
Other factors (aside from metabolic syndrome)
contribute to your risk for heart disease as well. The major risk factors
are:
- Increased LDL cholesterol (low-density
lipoprotein cholesterol) and total cholesterol levels. (LDL is the
bad cholesterol.)
- Cigarette smoking.
- Blood pressure that is greater than or equal to
140/90 (or youre on medicine for
high
blood pressure).
- Decreased HDL cholesterol (high-density
lipoprotein cholesterol) level to less than 40 mg/dL. (HDL is the
good cholesterol.)
- Age (for men ages 45 and older and for women ages
55 and older).
- Family history of early heart disease or sudden
death (in a father or brother before the age of 55, or in a mother or sister
before the age of 65).
If you smoke cigarettes or have increased LDL
cholesterol or high blood pressure, these are the first targets of
treatment.
Regardless of whether you have metabolic syndrome,
you should find out your chance of developing heart disease in the next 10
years (your short-term risk). This will help decide what your LDL cholesterol
goal should be and how you should be treated. To start, you will need to count
how many risk factors you have from the list above. (Dont count LDL and
total cholesterol because the treatment for them will be geared to your level
of risk.)
The National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP)
divides short-term heart disease risk into four categories, as shown below.
Your risk category depends on the number of risk factors you have and which
ones they are.
Your risk factors are used to calculate your 10-year
risk of developing heart disease. The NCEP has an
online
calculator that you can use to determine your 10-year heart disease risk
score. Every person with metabolic syndrome should have their 10-year-risk
score calculated.
- Youre in the High Risk category for heart
disease if you already have heart disease or diabetes, or if your 10-year-risk
score is more than 20 percent.
- Youre in the Moderately High Risk category
if you have two or more risk factors and your 10-year-risk score is 10 to 20
percent.
- Youre in the Moderate Risk category if you
have two or more risk factors and your 10-year-risk score is less than 10
percent.
- Youre in the Lower Risk category if you
have zero or one risk factor.
Even if your 10-year-risk score isnt high,
over time metabolic syndrome will increase your chance for heart disease. This
means that, regardless of your short-term risk category, metabolic syndrome
should be treated (mainly with lifestyle changes). |