Association between cardiorespiratory fitness and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome among Korean adults: a cross sectional study.

Sunghyun Hong,Sun Hyun Kim,Jihye Park,Justin Y Jeon,Jee Aee Im,Junga Lee,Sang Hoon Suh,Ji Young Kim,Kyong-Chol Kim,Mikyung Lee,Sang Hui Chu,Sang Hwan Kim

doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-481

Abstract

BackgroundThe purpose of the current study was to investigate the association between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), measured by a simple step test, and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome among Korean adults, in a cross sectional design.MethodsA total of 1,007 Korean adults (488 men and 519 women) who underwent routine health checkups were recruited. CRF was measured by Tecumseh step test. The National Cholesterol Education Program’s Adult Treatment Panel III guideline was used to determine the prevalence of metabolic syndrome. A logistic regression was performed to reveal possible associations.ResultsThe results of the study showed that a lower level of CRF was significantly associated with a higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome in men, but not in women. On the other hand, higher BMI was associated with a higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome in both men and women. However, BMI was not associated with fasting glucose nor hemoglobinA1c in men. When the combined impact of BMI and CRF on the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was analyzed, a significantly increased prevalence of metabolic syndrome was found in both men (odds ratio [OR]: 18.8, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 5.0 - 70.5) and women (OR: 8.1, 95% CI: 2.8 - 23.9) who had high BMI and low cardiorespiratory fitness. On the other hand, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was only increased 7.9 times (95% CI: 2.0 - 31.2) in men and 5.4 times (95% CI: 1.9 - 15.9) in women who had high level of CRF and high BMI.ConclusionIn conclusion, the current study demonstrated the low CRF and obesity was a predictor for metabolic syndrome in Korean adults.

Highlights

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the association between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), measured by a simple step test, and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome among Korean adults, in a cross sectional design
The low CRF group had a significantly higher number of participants with metabolic syndrome when compared to the high CRF group in men, but the same was not true in women
Findings from the current study indicate that the association between CRF and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was somewhat gender dependent, this relationship was less clear when the combined association of Body mass index (BMI) and CRF with metabolic syndrome prevalence was examined

Summary

Introduction

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the association between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), measured by a simple step test, and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome among Korean adults, in a cross sectional design. According to data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES, 1998–2007), the age-adjusted prevalence of metabolic syndrome among Korean adults rapidly increased from 24.9% in 1998 to 31.3% in 2007 [9]. A low level of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is a major contributing risk factor for metabolic syndrome [15,16,17], as well as a predictor of overall mortality [18,19,20,21,22]. Maintaining and improving CRF is an important strategy for the prevention of metabolic syndrome

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