The so-called metabolic syndrome (whose presence has been contested by many clinicians) is presented by metabolic disorders such as dyslipidemia, abdominal obesity, hyperglycemia and hypertension. One of the aspects under discussion is the quantification of cardiovascular risk: is it higher than the addition of the single elements or is it given only by the presence of multiple situations at risk? With a wide case-control trial on myocardial infarction, over 16,000 subjects (6905 with infarction) matching the criteria of the definition of metabolic syndrome have been examined. The risk of infarction associated with metabolic syndrome (OR 2.7 o 2.2, according to the criteria used to define the syndrome) resulted similar to the risk of diabetes (OR 2.7) or hypertension (OR 2.6) considered as isolated diseases. The presence of three or more risk factors just below the normality threshold was associated with an increased risk (OR 1.5) compared to subjects with normal values.
Compared to the presence of diabetes or hypertension, the so-called metabolic syndrome gives a slight increase in cardiac risk, but it is necessary to consider the increase in cardiovascular risk given by the presence of multiple risk factors, at borderline levels of normality, too.
