Smoking and Metabolic Syndrome

High rates of tobacco smoking and a condition called metabolic syndrome are combining to increase the risks of heart disease and stroke among older individuals in China, according to a report in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Metabolic syndrome refers to a cluster of risk factors for diabetes and heart disease -- including abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, low levels of "good" HDL cholesterol and high triglycerides (another type of blood fat). The syndrome is typically diagnosed when a person has three or more of these conditions.
Metabolic syndrome was associated with an increased risk of heart disease and stroke, the researchers note, and the risk was higher among former and current smokers than among people who had never smoked.
Further analysis showed that the combined effect of smoking and metabolic syndrome on heart disease and stroke was stronger in women than in men. Moreover, only in women was exposure to secondhand smoke associated with these conditions.