Metabolic syndrome is a disorder characterized by a cluster of the most dangerous heart attack risk factors: diabetes and prediabetes, abdominal obesity, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. A consensus worldwide definition of metabolic syndrome, including ethnic specific criteria was compiled by the International Diabetes Federation. In the case of migrants, the country of origin or ethnic background is used to define the appropriate group.
It is estimated that around 20–25% of the world’s adult population have the metabolic syndrome and they are twice as likely to die from and three times as likely to have a heart attack or stroke compared with people without the syndrome. In addition, people with metabolic syndrome have a fivefold greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes (adult onset). The clustering of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors that typifies metabolic syndrome is now considered to be the driving force for a new CVD epidemic.
Each year, 3.2 million people...
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Suggested Readings
Alberti, K. G., Zimmet, P., & Shaw, J. (2005). The metabolic syndrome – a new worldwide definition. Lancet, 366(9491), 1059–1062.
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Suggested Resources
International Diabetes Federation. http://www.idf.org/metabolic_syndrome
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Lewandowski, P. (2012). Metabolic Syndrome. In: Loue, S., Sajatovic, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Immigrant Health. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5659-0_505
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5659-0_505
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