The purpose of this review is to summarize the current knowledge regarding
metabolic syndrome prevalence and features in primary aldosteronism. We will also
discuss the link between aldosterone and the different metabolic changes typical
of the metabolic syndrome. Hypertensive patients have a high prevalence of
obesity, dyslipidemia and hyperglycaemia. These are risk factors for the
metabolic syndrome, and are associated with an increased cardiovascular risk
profile. In particular, insulin resistance seems to be the major alteration in
patients affected by primary aldosteronism. We will then describe the
experimental and clinical evidences of the role of aldosterone in the
pathogenesis of insulin resistance. Higher rates of cardiovascular events have
been recently reported in primary aldosteronism: they could be partly due to the
increased prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in this disorder
