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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staffMetabolic syndrome is linked to your body's metabolism, possibly to a condition called insulin resistance. Insulin is a hormone made by your pancreas that helps control the amount of sugar in your bloodstream.
Normally, your digestive system breaks down the foods you eat into sugar (glucose). Your blood carries the glucose to your body's tissues, where the cells use it as fuel. Glucose enters your cells with the help of insulin. In people with insulin resistance, cells don't respond normally to insulin, and glucose can't enter the cells as easily. Your body reacts by churning out more and more insulin to help glucose get into your cells. The result is higher than normal levels of insulin in your blood. This can eventually lead to diabetes when your body is unable to make enough insulin to control the blood glucose to the normal range.
Even if your levels aren't high enough to be considered diabetes, an elevated glucose level can still be harmful. In fact, some doctors refer to this condition as "prediabetes." Increased insulin raises your triglyceride level and other blood fat levels. It also interferes with how your kidneys work, leading to higher blood pressure. These combined effects of insulin resistance put you at risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and other conditions.
Combination of factors
Researchers are still learning what causes insulin resistance. It probably involves a variety of genetic and environmental factors. Some people may be genetically prone to insulin resistance, inheriting the tendency from their parents. But being overweight and inactive are major contributors.
Disagreement among experts
Not all experts agree on the definition of metabolic syndrome or whether it even exists as a distinct medical condition. Doctors have talked about this cluster of risk factors for years and have called it many names, including syndrome X and insulin resistance syndrome.
- Meigs JB. The metabolic syndrome (insulin resistance syndrome or syndrome X). http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Aug. 31, 2009.
- Metabolic syndrome. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/ms/ms_all.html. Accessed Aug. 31, 2009.
- Katzmarzyk PT, et al. The importance of waist circumference in the definition of metabolic syndrome. Diabetes Care. 2006;29:404.
- Steinberger J, et al. Progress and challenges in metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents. Circulation. 2009;119:628.
- Grundy SM, et al. Diagnosis and management of the metabolic syndrome: An American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute scientific statement. Circulation. 2005;112:2735.
- Aim for a healthy weight. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/lose_wt/risk.htm. Accessed Aug. 31, 2009.
- deKoning L, et al. Waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio as predictors of cardiovascular events: Meta-regression analysis of prospective studies. European Heart Journal. 2007;28:850.
