Cardiovascular parameters correlated with metabolic syndrome in a rural community cohort of Korea: the ARIRANG study

Although metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with increased cardiovascular mortality and the development of atherosclerosis, consensus is still lacking on the status of cardiovascular function and geometry in MetS patients. We investigated the relation between MetS and left ventricle (LV) geometry and function, carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and arterial stiffness in a community-based cohort of 702 adult subjects. Subjects were categorized into three groups according to the number of MetS components present, as defined by the Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines: 1) Absent (0 criteria), 2) Pre-MetS (1-2 criteria) or 3) MetS (> or =3 criteria). In female subjects, LV mass, LV mass/height(2.7), deceleration time, and aortic pulse wave velocity increased, and E/A ration decreased in a stepwise manner across the three groups. These changes were not observed in male subjects. The mean carotid IMT was higher in the MetS group than in the other two groups. The degree of MetS clustering is found to be strongly correlated with geometric eccentricity of LV hypertrophy, diastolic dysfunction and arterial changes irrespective of age and blood pressure status, particularly in females. Waist circumference is found to have the most powerful effect on cardiovascular parameters.