title: White coat hypertension may be an initial sign of the metabolic syndrome.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  to understand the role and significance of WCH in definition of the metabolic syndrome.
  
  
  METHODS
  the study was performed in the Internal Medicine Polyclinic of the Dumlupinar University between August 2005 and March 2007. We took consecutive patients at and above the age of 20 years. Their medical histories including smoking habit, DM, dyslipidemia, and already used medications were learnt, and a routine check up procedure including fasting plasma glucose (FPG), triglyceride (TG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and an electrocardiography was performed. Comparison of proportions was used as the method of statistical analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  the study included 1,068 cases. Prevalences of excess weight increased from the third (28.7%) up to the seventh decades (87.0%), gradually (p<0.05 nearly in all steps), and then decreased in the eighth (78.5%, p<0.05) decade of life. The most significant increase was seen during the passage from the third to the fourth decades (28.7% versus 63.6%, p<0.001) with a similar fashion to smoking. Hyperbetalipoproteinemia, hypertriglyceridemia, dyslipidemia, impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), and WCH had a similar fashion with excess weight by increasing until the seventh decade and decreasing afterwards (p<0.05 nearly in all steps). Whereas hypertension (HT), type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM), and coronary heart disease (CHD) always increased without any decrease by decades (p<0.05 nearly in all steps), indicating their irreversible natures.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  WCH may be an initial sign of the systemic atherosclerotic process that can be detected easily and prevented by a trend towards weight loss.
authors.affiliation: Medical Faculty of the Mustafa Kemal University, Serinyol, Antakya, Hatay, Turkey. mramihelvaci@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Mehmet R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Helvaci
authors.forename: Hasan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kaya
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gundogdu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000150:complications; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications; D005260:Female; D005951:Glucose Tolerance Test; D006801:Humans; D006938:Hyperlipoproteinemia Type II / Q000150:complications; D015228:Hypertriglyceridemia / Q000150:complications; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008875:Middle Aged; D050177:Overweight / Q000150:complications*; D059466:White Coat Hypertension / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D055815:Young Adult