The metabolic syndrome

摘要

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is becoming extremely common; its prevalence worldwide is expected to reach 5-7.6% by 2025. Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is the principal cause of death, disability, and excess healthcare costs in diabetes. Cardiovascular disease may already be present at the time when diabetes is diagnosed,~(wl) and patients with diabetes are more likely than their non-diabetic counterparts to die from a first event of cardiovascular disease.~(w2) These realities point to prevention of type 2 diabetes as the route to prevention of its costliest corn-plications. The close association of type 2 diabetes with cardiovascular disease led to the hypothesis that the two arise from a common antecedent;~(w3) this concept has been codified by the World Health Organization and others as "the metabolic syndrome."