[Role of aldosterone in the metabolic syndrome]

The purpose of this review is to summarize the current knowledge regarding metabolic syndrome prevalence and features in primary aldosteronism. We will also discuss the link between aldosterone and the different metabolic changes typical of the metabolic syndrome. Hypertensive patients have a high prevalence of obesity, dyslipidemia and hyperglycaemia. These are risk factors for the metabolic syndrome, and are associated with an increased cardiovascular risk profile. In particular, insulin resistance seems to be the major alteration in patients affected by primary aldosteronism. We will then describe the experimental and clinical evidences of the role of aldosterone in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance. Higher rates of cardiovascular events have been recently reported in primary aldosteronism: they could be partly due to the increased prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in this disorder.