Communications and Publications

Vol 18 n° 1

eJIFCC 2007,18 (1) How is the Metabolic Syndrome related to the Dyslipidemia?

Victor Blaton
KU-Leuven and Department Clinical Chemistry, Az St Jan Av, Brugge, Belgium

Some historical aspects on the metabolic syndrome

The contemporary definition of the metabolic syndrome refers to a cluster of metabolic abnormalities related to a state of insulin resistance, which is often associated with a high-risk overweight/obesity phenotype. Because such cluster increases the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) and type 2 diabetes, numerous consensus groups have attempted to provide recommendations to identify in clinical practice patients with these atherogenic/diabetogenic metabolic abnormalities. Although there has been an exponential proliferation of scientific papers and conferences on the metabolic syndrome, the concept of a cluster of abnormalities such as obesity, diabetes, dyslipidaemia and hypertension is not new and several physicians/investigators have contributed to the development of such concept through astute clinical observations or epidemiological/metabolic studies.