A clustering of abdominal obesity, high triglycerides, low levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC), high blood pressure, and elevated fasting glucose levels is sometimes called metabolic syndrome X (Reaven, 1988) or abdominal obesity-metabolic syndrome (Bjorntorp, 1991). The syndrome may affect nearly 1 in 4 U.S. adults and is considered a veritable epidemic (Ford et al., 2002). It is a major risk factor for both diabetes mellitus (see 125853 and Haffner et al., 1992) and cardiovascular disease (Isomaa et al., 2001). The etiology is complex, determined by the interplay of both genetic and environmental factors. The prevalence varies substantially among ethnic groups, with the highest rates in Mexican American women (Park et al., 2003). Other factors influencing the metabolic syndrome include age, smoking, alcohol, diet, and physical inactivity.
Genetic Heterogeneity of Abdominal Obesity-Metabolic Syndrome
AOMS2 (605572) has been mapped to chromosome 17p12. AOMS3 (615812) is caused by mutation in the DYRK1B gene (604556) on chromosome 19q13. AOMS4 (618620) is caused by mutation in the CELA2A gene (609443) on chromosome 1p36. [from
OMIM]