Clinical biomarkers in metabolic syndrome

A biomarker can be defined as a measurable variable that may be used as an indicator of a given biological state or condition. Biomarkers have been used in health and disease for diagnostic purposes, as tools to assess effectiveness of nutritional or drug intervention, or as risk markers to predict the development of certain diseases. In nutrition studies, selecting appropriate biomarkers is important to assess compliance, or incidence of a particular dietary component in the biochemistry of the organism, and in the diagnosis and prognosis of nutrition-related diseases. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of cardiovascular risk factors that occur simultaneously in the same individual, and it is associated with systemic alterations that may involve several organs and tissues. Given its close association with obesity and the increasing prevalence of obesity worldwide, identifying obese individuals at risk for metabolic syndrome is a major clinical priority. Biomarkers for metabolic syndrome are therefore potential important tools to maximize the effectiveness of treatment in subjects who would likely benefit the most. Choice of biomarkers may be challenging due to the complexity of the syndrome, and this article will mainly focus on nutrition biomarkers related to the diagnosis and prognosis of the metabolic syndrome.