Abstract P216: Physical Fitness and Incidence of Metabolic Syndrome Before Midlife in Military Young Adults: A Cohort Study

Abstract

Background: Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) could reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS), while the association of muscular endurance capacity (MEC) with incident MetS before midlife was rarely investigated. Methods: A total of 2,890 military men and women, aged 18-39 years, free of baseline MetS were followed for new-onset MetS from baseline (2014) through the end of 2020 in Taiwan. All subjects received annual health examinations for an assessment of MetS. Physical fitness was evaluated by CRF (estimated VO 2 max (mL/kg/min), from a 3000-m run) and MEC (2-min push-up numbers), respectively. MetS was defined based on the International Diabetes Federation criteria. The CRF and MEC were divided by tertiles, respectively against the subjects free of MetS for the Kaplan-Meiner survival analysis. Multivariable Cox regression model with adjustments for baseline demographics, body mass index, and physical activity was used to determine the associations of CRF and MEC (continuous variables) with incident MetS. Subgroup analyses within major MetS components were performed. Results: During a median follow-up of 5.8 years, there were 673 (23.3%) incident MetS. The Kaplan-Meiner Curves are shown in Figure 1. Greater CRF and MEC were associated with a lower risk of MetS [HRs and 95% CI: 0.956 (0.926-0.988) and 0.992 (0.985-0.999), respectively]. In the subgroup analyses, there were no heterogeneities within groups, e.g., body mass index, except that the associations for incident MetS were significantly lower in subjects with serum triglycerides <150 mg/dL [HRs: 0.943 (0.900-0.987) and 0.989 (0.981-0.997), respectively] than those with hypertriglyceridemia (both p for interaction =0.01). Conclusion: Both CRF and MEC were inversely associated with incident MetS in military young adults, which was obviously observed in those without hypertriglyceridemia. This cohort study suggests that obtaining greater physical fitness and lower serum triglycerides are important preventive measures to reduce the risk of MetS before midlife.