Background
: The metabolic syndrome is a cluster of related cardiovascular risk factors and it is the cause of morbidity and mortality in cardiovascular diseases. Recently, new diagnostic criteria of glucose metabolism impairment has been recommended. The purpose of this study was to estimate the difference of cardiovascular risk by investigating the prevalence of metabolic syndrome according to the degree of glucose metabolism impairment.

Methods : A population of 757 subjects was selected from a database of individuals who visited a health promotion center. We classified these subjects into 5 groups [Normal, Isolated impaired glucose tolerance (I-IGT), Isolated impaired fasting glucose (I-IFG), combined IGT with IFG (IGT/IFG) and Diabetes]. We compared the general characteristics, Homeostasis Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in these groups.

Results : HOMA-IR and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the IGT/IFG and the Diabetes group were significantly greater than the Normal group. HOMA-IR and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome of the I-IGT and the I-IFG group were not significantly different with the Normal group.

Conclusion : The insulin resistance and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the IGT/IFG group was significantly greater than the Normal group, and its presence may increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, it is important to control other combined metabolic disorders to prevent cardiovascular events after effective selection for IGT/ IFG.