Background: South Asians are more prone to develop metabolic syndrome (MetS). The additive predictive value of components of MetS for cardiovascular diseases is still debated. We undertook this study to evaluate the association of MetS and its components with severity of coronary artery disease (CAD).
Materials and methods: Three hundred patients with known coronary disease above the age of 25 years were included in this study. Blood samples were collected for biochemical markers. Patients were stratified into subjects with and without MetS (International Diabetes Federation, IDF, criteria) and severity of CAD (number of vessel involved).
Results: Mean age of the patient in the study was 60.9 ± 12.4 years (male, M: 72%; female, F: 28%). MetS was present in 64% patients. Patients with MetS had more severe CAD compared to those without MetS. Triple vessel disease (TVD) was present in 62.5% of patients with MetS compared to 34.3% among without MetS (P < 0.0001). The percent number of patients with TVD showed increasing trend with increasing number of components of MetS (0-0%; 1-20%; 2-27.5%; 3-47.8%; 4-72.6%; 5-78.3%; Chi square for trend < 0.0001). Inflammatory markers [interleukin (IL) 6: 77.67 ± 79.48 vs. 41.21 ± 60.72 pg/ml, P < 0.0001; tumor nuclear factor (TNF)-α: 28.0 ± 47.49 vs 20.43 ± 24.5 pg/ml, P < 0.0001; high sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP): 14.30 ± 9.91 vs. 7.02 ± 7.18 mg/L, P < 0.0001], insulin resistance [homeostatic model analysis insulin resistance (HOMA-IR): 22.33 ± 23.37 vs. 10.86 ± 13.90, P < 0.0001] were higher and insulin sensitivity [quantitative insulin check index (QUICKI): 0.26 ± 0.03 vs. 0.30 ± 0.04, P < 0.0001] was significantly lower in subjects with MetS compared to subjects without MetS. Among lipids, total cholesterol were comparable but triglyceride (175 ± 42 vs. 179 ± 48 vs. 180 ± 47 mg/dl, P < 0.0001) was high and high-density lipoprotein (HDL; 44.72 ± 7.63 vs. 39.96 ± 8.70 vs. 36.05 ± 8.84, P < 0.0001) was low in subjects with TVD compared to others. Similarly, percentage of patients with diabetes (7.5% vs. 26.3% vs. 63.7%, P < 0.0001) and hypertension (34.3% vs. 56.6% vs. 77.7%, P < 0.0001) were higher in subjects with TVD compared to others.
Conclusions: There is a strong correlation of MetS and its components with severity of CAD.
Keywords: Coronary artery disease; inflammatory markers; insulin resistance; metabolic syndrome.