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(Stroke. 2008;39:1068.)
© 2008 American Heart Association, Inc.

Editorials

The Metabolic Syndrome

More Than the Sum of Its Components?

Tobias Kurth, MD, ScD Giancarlo Logroscino, MD, PhD

From the Division of Preventive Medicine (T.K.) and the Division of Aging (T.K., G.L.), Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass; and the Department of Epidemiology (T.K., G.L.), Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Mass.

Correspondence to Tobias Kurth, MD, ScD, Division of Preventive Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 900 Commonwealth Ave East, Boston, MA 02215-1204. E-mail tkurth@rics.bwh.harvard.edu

Key Words: epidemiology • stroke

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

See related article, pages 1078–1083.

The metabolic syndrome is a clustering of metabolic abnormalities, which include insulin resistance or diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. Although the mechanisms of the underlying abnormalities remain to be clarified, the pathogenesis includes both genetic predisposition and modifiable risk factors such as sedentary lifestyle and dietary intake. Recent estimates suggest that approximately 24% of US adults have the metabolic syndrome.¹

In several studies, the metabolic syndrome has been shown to increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases²; however, the strength of its association with stroke is weaker than that for coronary heart disease.³ In the guidelines for the primary prevention of stroke from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, the metabolic syndrome is listed as a less–well-documented risk factor.⁴ But, given the high prevalence of the metabolic syndrome, studying its association with stroke is certainly relevant for 2 reasons: first, to obtain a better etiologic understanding of the causes of stroke; second, to identify individuals at high risk for stroke. This translates into 2 distinct scientific questions: is the metabolic syndrome by itself a risk factor for stroke?; and can we predict which individuals are at increased risk for stroke based on information about the metabolic syndrome? To answer these questions from observational data, one needs 2 distinct model-building strategies that require differences in assumptions of biological associations and statistical considerations.^5,6

In this issue of Stroke,⁷ Wang and colleagues investigated the association of the metabolic syndrome and stroke during a 14-year follow-up period. . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Related Article:

The Metabolic Syndrome Predicts Incident Stroke: A 14-Year Follow-Up Study in Elderly People in Finland

Jianjun Wang, Sanna Ruotsalainen, Leena Moilanen, Päivi Lepistö, Markku Laakso, and Johanna Kuusisto
Stroke 2008 39: 1078-1083. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]