Abstract
This study examined the association of alcohol drinking patterns with metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components in a nationally representative sample of South Korean adults. The cross-sectional study included 12,830 current drinkers (6438 men and 6392 women) who were at least 20 years old. Measures of alcohol drinking patterns included average drinking frequency, usual quantity, and binge drinking frequency over the past year. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for MetS and its components according to alcohol drinking patterns, and also to examine linear trends in these relationships. The prevalence of MetS was 1822 (26.2%) in men and 1313 (17.5%) in women. After adjusting for potential confounding factors, drinking quantity and binge drinking frequency were positively associated with MetS in both sexes. Regarding components of MetS, while the risk of low HDL cholesterol decreased as drinking frequency increased, other MetS components (abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, and impaired fasting glucose) worsened. Our results suggest that separate management of each component of MetS will be required to protect cardio-metabolic health, and a healthy drinking culture that refrains from binge drinking should be established in the context of public health.
Highlights
The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of risk factors defined by abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, elevated fasting glucose, and dyslipidemia, and is well known to be associated with type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and mortality [1,2,3]
As in the previous studies, our study found that men who consumed alcohol 2–3 times/week or more had significantly higher blood pressure than men who consumed alcohol less than once a month, whereas the risk of low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol was reduced with increased drinking frequency in a linear relationship that was statistically significant
Because associations between the components of MetS and drinking patterns have been shown to vary according to sex and ethnicity, it is necessary to investigate how each component of MetS is related to drinking patterns when we investigate the effect of drinking patterns on cardio-metabolic health
Summary
Introduction and Ike OkosunThe metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of risk factors defined by abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, elevated fasting glucose, and dyslipidemia, and is well known to be associated with type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and mortality [1,2,3]. The prevalence of MetS is estimated to be approximately 20–25% in adults worldwide [4]. According to Korean National Health Insurance Service data from 2009 to 2013, the ageadjusted prevalence of MetS increased from 28.84 to 30.52% among adults over the age of 30 in the Republic of Korea [5]. MetS poses a major challenge for public health professionals and policy makers. Because living habits such as alcohol drinking, smoking, and physical activity are known to be major risk factors for MetS and its components, recommendations for a healthy lifestyle are needed [6,7]. One of the most common health-related behaviors, it has been reported that a small amount of alcohol has a positive effect on health, but excessive drinking results in serious health problems, including an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, liver cirrhosis, chronic pancreatitis, and violence [8,9,10]
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