Metabolic syndrome with and without C-reactive protein as a predictor of coronary heart disease and diabetes in the West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study.
BACKGROUND
The National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) recently proposed a simple definition for metabolic syndrome. Information on the prospective association of this definition for coronary heart disease (CHD) and type 2 diabetes is currently limited.


RESULTS
We used a modified NCEP definition with body mass index in place of waist circumference. Baseline assessments in the West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study were available for 6447 men to predict CHD risk and for 5974 men to predict incident diabetes over 4.9 years of follow-up. Mean LDL cholesterol was similar but C-reactive protein was higher (P<0.0001) in the 26% of men with the syndrome compared with those without. Metabolic syndrome increased the risk for a CHD event [univariate hazard ratio (HR)=1.76 (95% CI, 1.44 to 2.15)] and for diabetes [univariate HR=3.50 (95% CI 2.51 to 4.90)]. Metabolic syndrome continued to predict CHD events (HR=1.30, 95% CI, 1.00 to 1.67, P=0.045) in a multivariate model incorporating conventional risk factors. Men with 4 or 5 features of the syndrome had a 3.7-fold increase in risk for CHD and a 24.5-fold increase for diabetes compared with men with none (both P<0.0001). C-reactive protein enhanced prognostic information for both outcomes. With pravastatin, men with the syndrome had similar risk reduction for CHD as compared with those without (HR, 0.73 and 0.69; pravastatin versus placebo).


CONCLUSIONS
A modified NCEP metabolic syndrome definition predicts CHD events, and, more strikingly, new-onset diabetes, and thus helps identify individuals who may receive particular benefit from lifestyle measures to prevent these diseases.
Sattar
Naveed
N
University Department of Pathological Biochemistry, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, 10 Alexandra Parade, Glasgow G31 2ER, Scotland, UK. nsattar@clinmed.gla.ac.uk
Gaw
Allan
A
Scherbakova
Olga
O
Ford
Ian
I
O'Reilly
Denis St J
DS
Haffner
Steven M
SM
Isles
Chris
C
Macfarlane
Peter W
PW
Packard
Chris J
CJ
Cobbe
Stuart M
SM
Shepherd
James
J
D015992:Body Mass Index; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009765:Obesity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D017035:Pravastatin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012606:Scotland / Q000453:epidemiology; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
D014280:Triglycerides; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D017035:Pravastatin