Year: 2014
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) remains a controversial entity. Specific clusters of MetS components - rather than MetS per se - are associated with accelerated arterial ageing and with cardiovascular (CV) events. To investigate whether the distribution of clusters of MetS components differed cross-culturally, we studied 34,821 subjects from 12 cohorts from 10 European countries and one cohort from the USA in the MARE (Metabolic syndrome and Arteries REsearch) Consortium. METHODS: In accordance with the ATP III criteria, MetS was defined as an alteration three or more of the following five components: elevated glucose (G), fasting glucose ≥110 mg/dl; low HDL cholesterol, < 40mg/dl for men or <50 mg/dl for women; high triglycerides (T), ≥150 mg/dl; elevated blood pressure (B), ≥130/≥85 mmHg; abdominal obesity (W), waist circumference >102 cm for men or >88 cm for women. RESULTS: MetS had a 24.3% prevalence (8468 subjects: 23.9% in men vs. 24.6% in women, p < 0.001) with an age-associated increase in its prevalence in all the cohorts. The age-adjusted prevalence of the clusters of MetS components previously associated with greater arterial and CV burden differed across countries (p < 0.0001) and in men and women (p < 0.0001). In details, the cluster TBW was observed in 12% of the subjects with MetS, but was far more common in the cohorts from the UK (32.3%), Sardinia in Italy (19.6%), and Germany (18.5%) and less prevalent in the cohorts from Sweden (1.2%), Spain (2.6%), and the USA (2.5%). The cluster GBW accounted for 12.7% of subjects with MetS with higher occurrence in Southern Europe (Italy, Spain, and Portugal: 31.4, 18.4, and 17.1% respectively) and in Belgium (20.4%), than in Northern Europe (Germany, Sweden, and Lithuania: 7.6, 9.4, and 9.6% respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The analysis of the distribution of MetS suggested that what follows under the common definition of MetS is not a unique entity rather a constellation of cluster of MetS components, likely selectively risky for CV disease, whose occurrence differs across countries.
Institutions: IRCCS San Raffaele Roma, Inserm, Paris Cardiovascular Research Center, Université Paris Descartes, National Research Council, Cardiff University, Hospital Universitario de Getafe, Erasmus MC, Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale degli Spedali Civili di Brescia, University of Brescia, Vilnius University Hospital Santariskiu Klinikos, Ghent University Hospital, National Institutes of Health, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Universitätsmedizin Greifswald, Lund University
Language: English
Subfield: Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funders: European Commission, ZonMw, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, Erasmus Medisch Centrum, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Vlaamse regering, Universität Greifswald, Ministry of Cultural Affairs, National Institutes of Health, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, National Institute on Aging
OpenAlex ID: W2088591597