Metabolic syndrome

American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute criteria

3/5

1) waist circumference >35" in women (>40" in men)

2) triglyceride level >150 mg/dL

3) HDL-C level <50 mg/dL in women (<40 mg/dL in men)

4) blood pressure = >130/85 mm Hg

5) fasting glucose >100 mg/dL.


CRP elevation correlates with number of indicators

Pathophysiology

development of visceral fat > adipocytes  cells  increase plasma levels of TNFα and alter levels of other substances (e.g., adiponectin, resistin, PAI-1). TNFα triggers production of inflammatory cytokines and possibly insulin resistance. experiment with rats fed a diet one-third sucrose. The sucrose first elevated blood levels of triglycerides, which induced visceral fat and ultimately resulted in insulin resistance.  The progression from visceral fat to increased TNFα to insulin resistance has some parallels to human development of metabolic syndrome.