Health Related Quality of Life in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome

Purpose: The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is characterized by obesity, dyslipidemia (high triglycerides and low HDL cholesterol), hyperglycemia, and hypertension. With the constantly increasing epidemic of metabolic syndrome in the US population, our purpose is to review the impact of metabolic syndrome on health related quality of life (HRQOL).
Methods: A literature search was conducted on articles in the English language on the Ovid MEDLINE, PubMed, and Cochrane databases from 2002 to 2011. The abstracts of 622 relevant articles were reviewed for accordance with our criteria, resulting in 80 selections that broadly addressed MetS or the involved disorders. Twenty-one papers with studies using HRQOL measurement were selected for inclusion in this review.
Results: Metabolic syndrome negatively impacts health related quality of life. Two of the conditions comprising metabolic syndrome, obesity and hyperglycemia, have the most negative effects on HRQOL. The consequences are most prevalent in the physical component of HRQOL.
Conclusions: The negative impact of metabolic syndrome on HRQOL affects a large proportion of the population. Further research is needed to guide in the prevention and proper treatment of MetS in order to improve patients’ HRQOL.