Abstract
The prevalence of metabolic syndrome has been increasing in Korea and has been associated with dietary habits. The aim of our study was to identify the relationship between dietary patterns and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome. Using a validated food frequency questionnaire, we employed a cross-sectional design to assess the dietary intake of 1257 Korean adults aged 31 to 70 years. To determine the participants’ dietary patterns, we considered 37 predefined food groups in principal components analysis. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III. The abdominal obesity criterion was modified using Asian guidelines. Prevalence ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the metabolic syndrome were calculated across the quartiles of dietary pattern scores using log binomial regression models. The covariates used in the model were age, sex, total energy intake, tobacco intake, alcohol consumption, and physical activity. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 19.8% in men and 14.1% in women. The PCA identified three distinct dietary patterns: the ‘traditional’ pattern, the ‘meat’ pattern, and the ‘snack’ pattern. There was an association of increasing waist circumference and body mass index with increasing score in the meat dietary pattern. The multivariate-adjusted prevalence ratio of metabolic syndrome for the highest quartile of the meat pattern in comparison with the lowest quartile was 1.47 (95% CI: 1.00–2.15, p for trend = 0.016). A positive association between the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and the dietary pattern score was found only for men with the meat dietary pattern (2.15, 95% CI: 1.10–4.21, p for trend = 0.005). The traditional pattern and the snack pattern were not associated with an increased prevalence of metabolic syndrome. The meat dietary pattern was associated with a higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome in Korean male adults.
Highlights
Metabolic syndrome is associated with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes [1] and cardiovascular disease, as well as general mortality [2,3]
According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), using the revised National Cholesterol Education Program/Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) definition, the age-adjusted prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the US adult Americans significantly increased from 29.2% between 1988 and 1994 to 34.2% between 1999 and 2006 [4]
Based on the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), using the ATP III criteria from the AsiaPacific region for central obesity, the age-adjusted prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the Korean population increased from 24.9% in 1998 to 31.3% in 2007 [7]
Summary
Metabolic syndrome is associated with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes [1] and cardiovascular disease, as well as general mortality [2,3]. According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), using the revised National Cholesterol Education Program/Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) definition, the age-adjusted prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the US adult Americans significantly increased from 29.2% between 1988 and 1994 to 34.2% between 1999 and 2006 [4]. Based on the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), using the ATP III criteria from the AsiaPacific region for central obesity, the age-adjusted prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the Korean population increased from 24.9% in 1998 to 31.3% in 2007 [7]. Metabolic syndrome risk factors might be closely related to diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Their potential causative factors need to be explored
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