Metabolic syndrome: a health problem with many definitions

Abstract

The metabolic syndrome comprises a group of cardiovascular risk facts represented by central obesity, dyslipidemias, anomalies in the glucose metabolism and arterial hypertension, tightly associated to the insulin resistance; at the present there is not a unique criteria to define it.  The current review was aimed to show the different groups of diagnostic criteria that are used the most to define this syndrome, and the existent variation in its prevalence in dependence of the used criteria, with author’s positioning. We expose different valuations related with the criteria proposed by five international or local experts organisms, and the results of the international investigations that use them. We concluded that in spite of that there are different groups of criteria to diagnose this syndrome, the most used one in population studies is the Third Report of the Educational Program on cholesterol, updated in 2005; that the syndrome prevalence changes in dependence of the used criteria; that the clinical importance of the research is related with the potential impact it has in the morbidity and mortality because it is an indicator of high cardiovascular weight; and that  we need an international consensus on the usage of a same criteria to diagnose this syndrome in a uniformed way.