LEARNING OUTCOME AND OBJECTIVES:  Upon completion of this continuing education course, you will demonstrate knowledge of evidence-based guidelines related to caring for patients with metabolic syndrome. Specific learning objectives to address potential knowledge gaps include:

• Describe the group of patient characteristics defining metabolic syndrome.
• Identify parameters for the key characteristics for metabolic syndrome.
• Discuss the criteria used to diagnose metabolic syndrome.
• Review current treatment guidelines and management strategies for patients.
• Identify other diseases and health problems associated with metabolic syndrome.
• Explain the recommended lifestyle changes for controlling risk factors associated with metabolic syndrome.
• Identify serious comorbidities associated with metabolic syndrome and interventions utilized for their effective treatment.
• Discuss strategies for the prevention of metabolic syndrome.

WHAT IS METABOLIC SYNDROME?

Metabolic syndrome is not a disease in the usual sense. Instead, it is a condition including a group of characteristics that impact the body’s ability to maintain circulation of useful but not excessive levels of energy molecules (i.e., glucose and lipids) in the bloodstream. These characteristics include a cluster of health problems associated with diabetes (i.e., glucose intolerance, hyperinsulinemia); high levels of triglycerides, glucose, and cholesterol; and insulin resistance (Mandal, 2019).

Initially, when the resulting health problems arise, they interact to worsen each other. Eventually, the set of problems (i.e., hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia) becomes severe enough to lead to serious health consequences. At this point, clinicians say that a person has metabolic syndrome (Durkin, 2019; Merck Manual, 2020). From studies of large populations of people, the most common cluster of characteristics of persons with metabolic syndrome has been found to include obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia (i.e., increased fasting triglycerides or decreased fasting high-density lipoprotein), and hypertension (NHLBI, 2019).

Metabolic syndrome has become increasingly common in the United States, and it is a major public health problem. Metabolic syndrome increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke, and coronary artery disease.

The primary causes of metabolic syndrome include obesity, physical inactivity, and possible genetic factors. The primary treatment of choice for metabolic syndrome includes lifestyle modifications such as increasing physical activity; eating a heart-healthy diet; and lowering blood glucose, blood cholesterol, and blood pressure (AHA, 2016).

It is estimated that 47 million Americans have metabolic syndrome, but many may not even know they have it. Metabolic syndrome prevalence increased from 1988 to 2012 for every sociodemographic group, especially among non-Hispanic White women, non-Hispanic Black women, and people with low socioeconomic status. By 2012, 34% of all U.S. adults met the definition and criteria for metabolic syndrome (Sherif, 2017; Moore et al., 2017). However, more recently, prevalence of the syndrome is declining, with rates as low as 24% in men and 22% in women (Swarup et al., 2020).