[From "deadly quartet" to "metabolic syndrome". An analysis of its clinical relevance].

The metabolic syndrome denotes a clustering of specific risk factors for both cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, whose underlying pathophysiology is believed to include insulin resistance. It has been widely reported that the syndrome is a simple clinical tool to identify people at high long term risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. However, its clinical importance is under debate.

[Subclinical thyroid diseases].

The term "subclinical thyroid diseases" describes conditions characterized by low or elevated thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), normal levels of circulating thyroid hormones (thyroxine and triiodothyronine), and few or no definite clinical signs or symptoms of thyroid dysfunction. Therefore, it is a diagnosis based on laboratory evaluation, not on clinical criteria. Because the risk of subclinical thyroid disease increases with age, the number of cases should increase as population ages.