metabolic syndrome X
Meaning of metabolic syndrome X: Metabolic syndrome X is an older name for metabolic syndrome, the clustering of abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, and abnormal glucose and lipid levels.
Definition of metabolic syndrome X
Metabolic syndrome X, now generally called simply metabolic syndrome, refers to a cluster of related findings that occur together and raise a person's risk of future disease. These findings include excess abdominal fat, elevated blood pressure, an elevated fasting blood glucose level, elevated triglycerides, and a reduced level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.
The name syndrome X reflected early uncertainty about what specifically linked these findings together, since the individual components were recognized before the underlying relationship connecting them was well understood. Insulin resistance, a reduced responsiveness of cells to the hormone insulin, is now recognized as a central feature tying these findings together.
As with metabolic syndrome under either name, no single finding defines the condition alone. The diagnosis depends on several of these features occurring together in the same person, and it identifies someone at increased risk for type 2 diabetes and for diseases of the heart and blood vessels.
Also known as
Used in a sentence
The chart still listed the older term metabolic syndrome X, now generally referred to simply as metabolic syndrome.
Good to know
Metabolic syndrome X and metabolic syndrome refer to the same condition under different names, with metabolic syndrome now the more commonly used term in current practice.