Treatment for patients with the metabolic syndrome

The metabolic syndrome, or insulin resistance syndrome, is associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease and related mortality and has an estimated age-adjusted US prevalence of 23.7%. Dyslipidemia in the syndrome is characterized by hypertriglyceridemia, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and small, dense low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particles in the context of normal/slightly elevated LDL cholesterol. Outcomes in treatment studies in or including diabetic patients suggest that a variety of therapies may be of benefit in reducing cardiovascular risk in patients with the metabolic syndrome, including physiologic therapies and pharmacologic treatments, such as aspirin, antihypertensive therapy, anti-ischemic therapy, and lipid-modifying therapies. The recently updated National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines identify the metabolic syndrome as a secondary target of lipid-lowering therapy after LDL cholesterol reduction and recommend use of weight reduction and increased physical activity to address underlying risk factors as well as therapies to address specific lipid and nonlipid risk factors.