Risk Associated With the Metabolic Syndrome Versus the Sum of Its Individual Components.

The article presents the results of a case study regarding the risk associated with the metabolic syndrome versus the sum of its individual components. The study found that metabolic syndrome did not provide risk information above and beyond its individual components. The metabolic syndrome predicts mortality independently of established cardiovascular risk factors and may thus merit attention in the clinical setting. The metabolic syndrome might be viewed as a clinically handy summary measure of nontraditional risk factors rather than as a strong biological entity.