Metabolic syndrome and its relationship with Type 2 Diabetes & Pre Diabetes

Occurrence of type 2 diabetes is increasing in the United States of America. Pre diabetes is the condition when fasting or post-prandial glucose levels increase in the body. According to the American Diabetes Association, fasting glucose is considered impaired if the level is between 100 to 125 mg/dl.

On the other hand, elevated hemoglobin A1c or glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) level might be considered pre diabetes. It included an elevation of 5.7 to 6.4 percent.

Cardiologists believe there is a relationship between metabolic syndrome and pre-diabetes. An individual is diagnosed with the metabolic syndrome if any 3 of 5 medical components are identified in them. These five components are-

• Abdominal obesity
• Increased blood pressure
• High glucose level
• High triglycerides
• Reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in body

Abdominal obesity is very common in metabolic syndrome patients. In most of the individuals suffering from metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance is common. Therefore, it is believed that insulin resistance may be associated with the risk factors of metabolic syndrome.
Pre-diabetes and metabolic syndrome may overlap. Patients can even consider the metabolic syndrome as a pre-diabetic stage.

However, the risk of diabetes in individuals with metabolic syndrome is approximately 5 times higher in comparison to individuals without this condition. In addition, if this syndrome is combined with pre-diabetes, the risk of diabetes gets higher.

Pre diabetes in individuals usually leads to macrovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. These two medical conditions are the major contributors for microvascular disease. This disease happens in individuals both before and after the beginning of diabetes. On the other hand, microvascular disease arises in individuals mostly a few years after becoming diabetic. Metabolic syndrome is one of the many risk factors for macrovascular disease.

One can prevent these medical conditions by making some early changes in lifestyle. It includes increased physical activity and weight reduction in those who are obese. These lifestyle changes also include less consumption of cholesterol, dietary saturated & trans-fatty acids, and sodium. These early changes in lifestyle are necessary for individuals at higher risk of metabolic syndrome and pre diabetes. An extensive evaluation for cardiovascular disease is also suggested by the best cardiologist in NY.

How modest fat gain and heart disease are related?

Noted medical news service HealthDay published a report, which showed that individuals who gain slight weight are at an increased  high risk of developing high blood pressure and heart disease. The risks of cardiovascular disease increase in these individuals because weight gain deters the cell’s function that lines their blood vessels.

This report was based on a controlled study in which researchers observed two groups of young and healthy adult volunteers. One group had moderate weight gain (about 8 pounds) while the other group of volunteers maintained their weight. Researchers measured the endothelial function in volunteers’ bodies. This function measures the blood vessels’ ability to contract and expand, which controls the blood circulation. The endothelial function was measured by measuring the function of the brachial artery. It is the main blood vessel located in the arms.

During the study, researchers measured the brachial artery function before 8 weeks of weight gain. The second time, they measured it after the sixteen weeks of weight loss. In both groups of the volunteers, the researchers assessed the fat deposited in the area of abdomen. This study showed that the brachial artery’s ability to expand was reduced in individuals who put on mass in the belly area. This ability returned once these individuals lost all that extra mass.

Weight control is important for decreasing the risk of cardiovascular disease. According to the best heart doctors in New York, this study may support the need of weight control to decrease the risk of heart conditions.

This study shows that the moderate weight increment in the abdominal area may be the related to the endothelial dysfunction in the body. The risk of endothelial dysfunction can be prevented with a healthy diet and weight loss. The best heart doctors in NY say that this dysfunction may be an early sign of coronary artery disease. This study also supports preceding reports that associated measures of obesity to cardiovascular risk in individuals.