What is the Difference Between Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes

The key difference between metabolic syndrome and diabetes is that metabolic syndrome is a cluster of metabolic conditions occurring together, increasing the risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes, while diabetes is a metabolic condition that causes high blood sugar.

Metabolism is the process in the body that produces energy from the food we eat. A metabolic disorder occurs when abnormal chemical reactions in the body disrupt the metabolic processes. There are different groups of metabolic disorders or conditions that can affect the breakdown of amino acids, carbohydrates, and lipids. Metabolic syndrome and diabetes are two such metabolic conditions.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Metabolic Syndrome 
3. What is Diabetes
4. Similarities – Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes
5. Metabolic Syndrome vs Diabetes in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Metabolic Syndrome vs Diabetes

What is Metabolic Syndrome?

Metabolic syndrome refers to a cluster of metabolic conditions that occur together, increasing the risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. These abnormal changes include increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol or triglyceride levels. If it develops more of these above changes, the risk of complications such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease will rise even higher. Metabolic syndrome is very common in the adult population. The signs and symptoms of metabolic syndrome include a visible large waist circumference, increased thirst and urination, fatigue, and blurred vision. The risk factors for metabolic syndrome include age (increases with age), ethnicity, obesity, diabetes, and other diseases such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, polycystic ovary syndrome, or sleep apnea.

Metabolic syndrome can be diagnosed by measuring waistline, triglyceride level, HDL cholesterol level, blood pressure, and fasting blood sugar. Furthermore, the treatment options may include medications for controlling blood pressure, cholesterol, and sugar level, lifestyle and home remedies (regular physical activity, weight loss, healthy diet, stopping smoking, reduce mental stress).

What is Diabetes?

Diabetes is a metabolic condition that causes high blood sugar. Glucose is an important source of energy for the cells. It provides energy for the cells that make up the muscles and tissues. Glucose is also the main source of fuel for the brain. The signs and symptoms of diabetes include feeling thirstier, frequent urinating, losing weight, presence of ketones in the urine, feeling tired and weak, feeling irritable, having blurry vision, having slow healing sores, and getting a lot of infections. The risk factors for diabetes include family history, environmental factors, and geography. The exact cause is not known. Both type one and type two diabetes occur by a combination of genetic or environmental factors.

Diabetes can be diagnosed through glycated haemoglobin tests, random blood sugar tests, fasting blood sugar tests, and oral glucose tolerance tests. Furthermore, diabetes can be treated through healthy eating, physical activities, insulin therapy, oral drugs (metformin), pancreas transplantation, and bariatric surgery.

What are the Similarities Between Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes?

• Metabolic syndrome and diabetes are two metabolic conditions.
• Both conditions are due to defects in the metabolism.
• They have a high blood sugar level.
• They can be diagnosed through bolo testing.
• Both can be treated through specific medications and lifestyle, and home remedies.

What is the Difference Between Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes?

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of metabolic conditions that occur together, increasing the risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes, while diabetes is a metabolic condition that causes high blood sugar. Thus, this is the key difference between metabolic syndrome and diabetes. Furthermore, the risk factors for metabolic syndrome include age (increases with age), ethnicity (more in the United States, Hispanics), obesity, diabetes, and other diseases such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, polycystic ovary syndrome, and sleep apnea. On the other hand, the risk factors for diabetes include family history, environmental factors, and geography.

The below infographic presents the differences between metabolic syndrome and diabetes in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.

Summary – Metabolic Syndrome vs Diabetes

Metabolism is the process by which the human body converts what people eat and drink into energy. Metabolic syndrome and diabetes are two metabolic conditions that are due to defects in the metabolism. Metabolic syndrome is a medical term used to refer to a group of metabolic conditions that occur together and increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is a metabolic condition that causes high blood sugar. So, this is the key difference between metabolic syndrome and diabetes.

Reference:

1. “Metabolic Syndrome.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 6 May 2021.
2. “What Is Diabetes?” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 7 July 2022.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus” By Manu5 – Scientific Animations – (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia