[Laboratory markers of metabolic syndrome in clinical practice]

The incidence of metabolic syndrome is evidenced by the presence of three out of five criteria: larger waistline, elevated blood pressure, raised triglyceride levels, reduced HDL-cholesterol and raised fasting glycaemia (or diabetes mellitus). Laboratory picture of metabolic syndrome also includes presence of small LDL3 particles and increased concentration of apolipoprotein B. Determination of glycaemia and triglycerides and HDL-cholesterol levels is fundamental for the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome. The risk of the so-called ,,pre-analytical" error has to be minimized in order for the results of these investigations to be sufficiently reliable, i.e. the recommendations related to the preparation of the patient, blood sampling itself and the transportation of the sample to a laboratory has to be adhered to. If the laboratory results fall into the borderline (critical) values, it is appropriate to repeat blood sampling.