Reversal of metabolic syndrome characteristics

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a constellation of three or more clinical health abnormalities from a list of five and, therefore, can vary significantly in its profile. Successful intervention strategies for preventing or resolving individuals' MetS may benefit from better understanding how specific risk factor profiles influence improvement in syndrome status.

A retrospective analysis of clinical records for members participating in a university-based health assessment/fitness center between 1978 and 2003 was undertaken in 2005. First-year and second-year measures of body mass index, triglycerides, high-density lipoproteins, fasting blood glucose, and blood pressure were compared. Prevalence of individual MetS risk markers, as well as deviation from cut-point levels, were compared in members with and without the syndrome and in subgroups of those whose MetS status changed between the two examinations.

Of the 878 members analyzed, 133 (15%) presented with metabolic syndrome at first visit. Within 2 years of participating in a health assessment/fitness center, 42% of the members resolved their MetS status. Elevated triglycerides differentially characterized those participants who did not improve their MetS status, since that risk marker was not prevalent in the reversal group, but was 86% prevalent in the nonreversal group. For those who resolved their MetS status, there was a 33% improvement in triglycerides level.

While MetS resolution was achieved within 2 years for many participants in this study, it is likely that customized treatment interventions are necessary for those individuals with elevated triglycerides, the chief abnormality for those who did not resolve.