WEDNESDAY, May 21 (HealthDay News) -- Metabolic syndrome
increases the risk of diabetes, but not cardiovascular disease, in
the elderly, a new British study finds.
People with metabolic syndrome have at least three of the
following five health problems: elevated blood sugar levels; high
blood pressure; high waist circumference; decreased levels of
"good" HDL cholesterol; and elevated levels of triglycerides (fats)
in the blood.
While experts believed all people with metabolic syndrome are at
increased risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD), this
University of Glasgow study suggests that's not the case in elderly
people.
The researchers analyzed data from 4,812 non-diabetic people,
aged 70 to 82, who took part in the Prospective Study of
Pravastatin in the Elderly at Risk (PROSPER), and data from 2,737
non-diabetic men, aged 60 to 79, who took part in the British
Regional Heart Study (BRHS).
In PROSPER, 772 cases of CVD and 287 cases of diabetes occurred
in just over three years. Metabolic syndrome was not associated
with CVD but was associated with a more than fourfold increased
risk of diabetes.
In BRHS, there were 440 cases of CVD and 105 cases of diabetes
over seven years. Metabolic syndrome was associated with a modest
(27 percent) increased risk of CVD and a more than sevenfold
increased risk of diabetes.
Results from both studies showed that body-mass index (BMI) or
waist circumference, triglyceride levels and glucose cutoff point
weren't associated with CVD risk, but all five metabolic syndrome
components were associated with diabetes risk.
"Metabolic syndrome and its components are associated with type
2 diabetes but have weak or no association with vascular risk in
elderly populations, suggesting that attempts to define criteria
that simultaneously predict risk for both cardiovascular disease
and diabetes are unhelpful," the study authors concluded.
Rather than having combined criteria, experts should establish
optimum and separate risk factors for each disease, they
recommended.
The findings were published online Wednesday by
The Lancet and will appear in a future print edition.
More information
The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about
metabolic syndrome.
