[Impact of metabolic syndrome on chronic kidney disease]

Metabolic syndrome has been recognized as possible risk factor for renal damage and the increased prevalence of both metabolic syndrome and renal disease justifies the increasing interest of the nephrology community toward the metabolic syndrome as another possible inducing cause of chronic renal disease, although the available evidence about a direct causal relationship between metabolic syndrome and development of renal disease so far is scanty. The not easy separation of the negative effects on renal function of metabolic syndrome from those derived from hypertension and diabetes per se, however, does not reduce the interest toward a possible direct impact of metabolic syndrome on renal disease. This also in consideration that other important factors linked with metabolic syndrome, such as for example obesity, have direct independent impact on the development of abnormalities such as microalbuminuria and or overt renal disease. Planning of clinical trials specifically for patients with metabolic syndrome could be helpful to give definitive answers on a possible direct impact of metabolic syndrome on chronic renal disease.