Last Updated: 2002-12-03 16:03:20 -0400 (Reuters Health)

By Alison McCook

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Middle-aged men with a condition that puts them at high risk of diabetes and heart disease may face an increased risk of death from any cause, new research suggests.

Among more than 1,200 Finnish men aged 42 to 60, those with metabolic syndrome were three to four times more likely to die of coronary heart disease or other cardiovascular disease. They were also about twice as likely to die of any cause during the 11-year study period.

Metabolic syndrome, also known as insulin resistance syndrome, is marked by impaired metabolism of blood sugar and the sugar-regulating hormone insulin, as well as high blood pressure and elevated levels of blood fats called triglycerides. It is closely linked to obesity and often precedes the development of type 2 diabetes, as well as cardiovascular disease.

Metabolic syndrome appears to result from a variety of factors, including genes, but a person's overall health likely plays a role, the study's lead author, Dr. Hanna-Maaria Lakka of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, told Reuters Health.

And given the growing epidemic of obesity in the US and elsewhere, and with so many people spending most of their waking hours in a chair, "the metabolic syndrome is becoming increasingly common," Lakka said.

It is estimated that one third of middle-aged men and women in the US have metabolic syndrome, and, as in many other countries, obesity is on the rise in Finland, Lakka's team notes in the December 4th issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

However, evidence suggests that even modest efforts to increase exercise and healthy eating can reduce the risk of the syndrome, or lessen its impact on health once it is diagnosed, Lakka said.

"Early identification, treatment and prevention of the metabolic syndrome and its consequences is a major challenge for clinicians and public health policymakers facing an epidemic of overweight and sedentary lifestyle," the researcher said.

Although researchers have long known that people with metabolic syndrome have a relatively high risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, the overall risk of death among these patients has remained unclear.

During the study, Lakka and colleagues followed a group of 1,209 Finnish men, all of whom began the study free of cardiovascular disease, cancer or diabetes.

The investigators found that between 9% and 14% of the men had metabolic syndrome. During the study period, 109 of them died, and the risk of death from coronary heart disease, any cardiovascular disease and any other cause was elevated among those with metabolic syndrome.

This increased risk remained after accounting for other factors such as smoking and family history of heart disease, the authors note.

SOURCE: Journal of the American Medical Association 2002;288:2709-2716.


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