Metabolic syndrome and estimates of cardiovascular disease in cirrhotic patients

OBJECTIVE: The expected survival rate in patients with liver cirrhosis has increased in recent years, putting them into a clinical scenario in which cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome could be common causes of morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to analyze the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and other risk factors and estimate the risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with liver cirrhosis. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study assessing the patients' lifestyle, and their anthropometric and biochemical data. Their metabolic syndrome and estimates of their risk of cardiovascular disease were calculated, comparing patients with and without liver cirrhosis. RESULTS: The study included 355 patients (99 cirrhotic and 256 non-cirrhotic patients). There were no differences between them in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (39.4% vs 45.7%, P = 0.340). In patients with liver cirrhosis, the mean values of criteria for metabolic syndrome increased as the model end-stage liver disease (MELD) score increased (P = 0.01). The mean value of a 10-year risk for cardiovascular disease was lower in the cirrhotic patients (3.4 +/- 3.5% vs 5.8 +/- 6.8%, P = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Metabolic syndrome is prevalent in patients with liver cirrhosis, but their estimated risk for cardiovascular disease is lower than in non-cirrhotics. The MELD score is a good marker for assessing the severity of the metabolic syndrome in this group.