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In a large U.S. population-based study presented at the 73rd Annual
Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology,
metabolic syndrome patients had a 75 percent higher risk of colorectal
cancer compared to those without metabolic syndrome.
Dr. Donald
Garrow and Dr. Mark Delegge of the Medical University of South Carolina
in Charleston analyzed data of patients who reported a history of
metabolic syndrome and colorectal cancer from the National Health
Interview Survey (NHIS), a comprehensive nationally representative
study conducted each year by the National Center for Health Statistics.
Metabolic
syndrome was defined as having a combination of three common chronic
medical conditions: hypertension, diabetes and elevated cholesterol.
The risk of colorectal cancer among patients with metabolic syndrome
was determined by multivariate logistic regression analysis,
controlling for age, race, gender, obesity, smoking and alcohol use.
“Since
individuals with the metabolic syndrome have a significantly higher
lifetime risk of colorectal cancer, they should closely adhere to
published guidelines for colorectal cancer screening,” said Dr. Garrow.
About Metabolic Syndrome
Metabolic syndrome is also
referred to as insulin resistance syndrome, syndrome X, dysmetabolic
syndrome X, and Reaven syndrome.
- A quarter of the world's adults have metabolic
syndrome
- People with metabolic syndrome are twice as likely
to die from, and three times as likely to have a heart attack or stroke compared with people without the
syndrome
- People with metabolic syndrome have a five-fold
greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes
- Up to 80% of the 200 million people with diabetes
globally will die of cardiovascular disease. This
puts metabolic syndrome and diabetes way ahead of HIV/AIDS in
morbidity and mortality terms yet the problem is not as well recognized.
Metabolic syndrome is
characterized by a group of conditions that increases a persons chance of
developing:
All
of these conditions are associated with high blood insulin levels. The
fundamental defect in the metabolic syndrome is insulin resistance in both
adipose tissue and muscle. Drugs that decrease insulin resistance also usually
lower blood pressure and improve the lipid profile.
A
person is considered having metabolic syndrome if they have any three of the
following five conditions:
- High blood pressure (hypertension).
>130 mm hg / 35 mm hg
- Abnormal
level of fasting blood glucose. > 100 mg/dl (or prediabetes
which is between 100 - 125 mg/dl)
- Increased
weight around the waist. (apple shape rather than pear
shape). Typically a waist measurement (apple
shaped) >35" for women, > 40 " for man.
- Elevated triglycerides. > 150 mg/dl
- Low HDL ("good") cholesterol. <40 mg/dl men, < 50 mg/dl
Losing weight, eating a healthy diet,
and exercising routinely can help to reduce your risk of metabolic
syndrome.
New Education Tools From GI Experts Address Obesity and GI Disease
The
American College of Gastroenterology recognizes that the epidemic of
obesity is of particular relevance to gastroenterologists because of
the clearly documented associations of obesity with a number of
gastrointestinal disease risk factors and outcomes, including mortality
rates and unfavorable risk profiles.
The ACG has developed new
resource tools to help physicians incorporate patient education on the
risks overweight and obesity. These educational resources on weight and
GI health are available on the ACG Web site at www.acg.gi.org/obesity.
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Health and Medical 
