New Marker for Illness and Disease

A condition called metabolic syndrome has been found to be closely linked to breast and prostate cancer as well as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic liver disease, and sleep apnea.

Diagnosing the condition so that treatment could begin would greatly help to reduce the incidence of illness and disease, since the condition affects more than 25% of all people in the United States. Diagnosis is fairly simple, since those people at risk will have three of the following traits: waist measurement of 40 inches or more among men and 35 inches or more among women, blood triglyceride levels of 150 or greater, blood pressure of 130/83 or higher, and fasting blood sugar of 100 or more. The incidence of metabolic syndrome appears to be higher among people of lower socioeconomic status. Treatment consists mainly of lifestyle changes, such as a vigorous physical fitness program and good nutrition, according to the authors.

The incidence of heart risk associated with metabolic syndrome could be reduced by as much as 10%, and the incidence of diabetes could be reduced by as much as 35%, according to the study conducted by Earl S. Ford, M.D., MPH, of the (U.S.) National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control (Atlanta, GA, USA).

A second study was conducted by Gerald Reaven, M.D., of Stanford University (Palo Alto, CA, USA), who was the first to identify metabolic syndrome. According to Dr. Reaven, the condition also leads to hypertension. His report concludes that a person who is more physically fit will produce appropriate levels of insulin and be less likely to develop metabolic syndrome.

Both studies were presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Clinical Chemistry in Los Angeles (CA, USA) in July 2004.




Related Links:
National Center for Chronic Disease
Stanford U.