{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,9]],"date-time":"2026-10-09T23:26:46Z","timestamp":1791588406803,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"17","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]],"date-time":"2026-08-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787875200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["J. Clin. Med.","JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) refers to the coexistence of cardiometabolic disorders, such as hyperglycemia, elevated blood pressure, visceral obesity, or features of atherogenic dyslipidemia. A diagnosis of MetS significantly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, the exact relationship between the number of MetS components, regardless of their constellation, and features of subclinical cardiovascular dysfunction remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the relationship between the number of MetS components and features of subclinical atherosclerosis and arterial stiffness (AS) in patients without clinically overt CVD. Methods: This retrospective study included 100 patients (mean age: 58.8 \u00b1 16.81 years), without signs of acute illness or diagnosed atherosclerotic CVD, who were admitted to a clinic for scheduled internal medicine diagnostics. Participants were assessed for MetS components and underwent cardiovascular tests, including Doppler ultrasonography of the carotid, vertebral, and lower limb arteries; measurement of intima\u2013media thickness (IMT) in the carotid (cIMT), common femoral (cfIMT), and superficial femoral (sfIMT) arteries; and assessment of AS using carotid\u2013femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) and pulse wave analysis (PWA). Results: Univariate analysis revealed significant correlations between the number of MetS components and IMT in all vascular beds: cIMT (R = 0.371; p &lt; 0.001), cfIMT (R = 0.343; p &lt; 0.001), and sfIMT (R = 0.516; p &lt; 0.001). Significant correlations were also found for several AS and PWA parameters: cfPWV (R = 0.398; p &lt; 0.001), central pulse pressure (cPP) (R = 0.223; p &lt; 0.026), and end-systolic pressure (ESP) (R = 0.241; p = 0.016). Meanwhile, in the multivariable analysis adjusted for sex, age, and body mass index (BMI), only the association between the subendocardial viability ratio (SEVR) and the number of MetS components was significant (\u03b2 = 0.33; 95% CI 0.084\u20130.577; p = 0.009); however, this association does not remain significant after Benjamini\u2013Hochberg correction (p = 0.108). Conclusions: Although the number of MetS components correlated significantly with several parameters of subclinical atherosclerosis and AS, most associations were explained by confounding variables. These results do not support the use of a simple count of MetS components as an indicator of subclinical cardiovascular dysfunction related to atherosclerosis and AS.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm15176638","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]],"date-time":"2026-08-28T12:27:46Z","timestamp":1787920066000},"page":"6638","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Association Between the Number of Metabolic Syndrome Components and Markers of Subclinical Vascular Damage: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Monika","family":"Starzak","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Internal Medicine, Angiology and Physical Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences in Zabrze, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Batorego 15 St., 41-902 Bytom, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0039-8306","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Grzegorz K.","family":"Jakubiak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medical Sciences in Zabrze, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Jordana 38 St., 41-808 Zabrze, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7551-9371","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Natalia","family":"Pawlas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medical Sciences in Zabrze, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Jordana 38 St., 41-808 Zabrze, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2210-8744","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Grzegorz","family":"Cie\u015blar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Internal Medicine, Angiology and Physical Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences in Zabrze, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Batorego 15 St., 41-902 Bytom, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6939-9898","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Agata","family":"Stanek","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Internal Medicine, Metabolic Diseases and Angiology, Faculty of Health Sciences in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Ziolowa 45\/47 St., 40-635 Katowice, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Paapstel, K., and Kals, J. 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