**5. Conclusions**

The current epidemic of metabolic disorders, framed in what we term MS, increases in a society with unhealthy lifestyles, and many aspects of this condition are still unknown. Research on MS generates a constant stream of new information and a flood of debate on whether this pathology exists, its components, and the pathophysiological mechanisms that produce it.

Recently, a two-way relationship between MS and brain disorders, such as MCI and AD, has been observed, but without clarity regarding which phenomenon occurs first and which pathophysiological pathways are involved. Contrasting findings could be attributed to factors inherent in the complex nature of MS and MCI. Both disorders are multifactorial and display disparity in clinical manifestations. Further, research methodology is heterogeneous, reflecting the variability in criteria used to define MS, methods used for evaluating cognitive function, study design, and the presence of confounding factors. The latter factors might be varying characteristics of the populations studied, such as age, sex, race, educational status, socioeconomic status, and health–disease status. Large-scale studies with adequate power and longer follow-up periods will be necessary to establish a direct and accurate causal relationship between MS and MCI pathologies.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization: M.R., M.C.-C., E.D.-C. and V.B.; investigation: S.D.A.; M.R., M.C.-C., D.P., H.P. and M.N.; writing—original draft: M.G.-D.; S.D.A.; M.R., D.P., H.P. and M.N.; writing—review and editing: M.R., M.C.-C., M.C., L.A., R.A., J.S., V.B., R.O. and E.D.-C.; funding acquisition: V.B., E.D.-C., M.G.-D. and M.C. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This work was supported by research grant no. 2021810819 from La Universidad Simón Bolívar, Cúcuta, Colombia, and CC-0437-10-21-09-10 from Consejo de Desarrollo Científico, Humanístico y Tecnológico (CONDES), University of Zulia, and the research grant no. FZ-0058-2007 from Fundacite-Zulia.

**Acknowledgments:** This paper is derived from the doctoral dissertation work of Edgar Díaz-Camargo, student of the doctorate in Psychology at the Universidad Simón Bolívar.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors have no conflict of interest to disclose.
