Does a diagnosis of metabolic syndrome have value in clinical practice?1,2

“The metabolic syndrome” is the name for a clustering of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes that are of metabolic origin. These risk factors consist of atherogenic dyslipidemia, elevated blood pressure, elevated plasma glucose, a prothrombotic state, and a proinflammatory state. There are 2 major, interacting causes of the metabolic syndrome—obesity and endogenous metabolic susceptibility. The latter typically is...