INS and metabolic syndrome: Patients with MetS showed increased levels of systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, BMI, waist circumference, waist-hip ratio, triglyceride, total cholesterol, fasting glucose, insulin, HbA1c, HOMA-insulin resistance and more prescription of medications, and decreased levels of HDL-cholesterol when compared with controls (all P < 0.05-0.01), but there were no significant differences in any of those parameters between patients with and without carotid plaques.