Abstract
The objective of the study was to explore the dynamic effects of socioeconomic status (SES) and lifestyle behaviors on the risks of metabolic syndrome (MS) or cardiovascular disease (CVD) in life course. The data of 12,825 subjects (6616 males and 6209 females) who underwent repeated examinations and answered repeated questionnaires from 2006 to 2014 at the Major Health Screening Center in Taiwan, was collected and analyzed. The trajectory of trends in the subjects’ SES and lifestyle mobility over time was observed, and the effects of factors with potential impacts on health were tested and analyzed using multiple logistic regression and a generalized estimated equation model. A 10% increase in MS prevalence was observed over the nine-year period. The average Framingham CVD score for people with MS was estimated to be about 1.4% (SD = 1.5%). Except for middle-aged women, marriage was found to raise the risk of CVD, whereas increasing education and work promotions independently reduced CVD risk for the majority of subjects. However, the risk of CVD was raised by half for young men who had a job or lost a job in comparison to continuously unemployed young men. Physical activity was only found to be advantageous for disease prevention in those aged less than 40 years; increased exercise levels were useless for reducing CVD risk among older men. Alcohol drinking and betel chewing caused increased CVD risk in the old and young subjects, respectively, whereas vegetarian diets and vitamin C/E intake were helpful in preventing CVD, even if those habits were ceased in later life. For middle-aged women, getting sufficient sleep reduced CVD risk. We concluded that SES and lifestyle behaviors may have different effects on health over time, among various populations. Accordingly, suggestions can be provided to healthcare workers in designing health promotion courses for people at different life stages.
Highlights
Metabolic syndrome (MS) is characterized by multiple cardiovascular risk factors and causes health problems for individuals, as well as burdens on health care systems
Physical activity was only found to be advantageous for disease prevention in those aged less than 40 years; increased exercise levels were useless for reducing cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk among older men
Past studies have reported that socioeconomic adversities in various stages of life were associated with CVD incidence during adult life [35], as well as with a higher prevalence of risk factors for CVD [23,36]
Summary
Metabolic syndrome (MS) is characterized by multiple cardiovascular risk factors and causes health problems for individuals, as well as burdens on health care systems. The prevalence of MS appears to be rising due to increasing obesity rates and aging populations [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]. The potential factors underlying MS have been linked with demographic characteristics and lifestyle behaviors, such as smoking, drinking, dietary behaviors, and physical activity [10,11,12,13]. Antioxidants (e.g., vitamin C and vitamin E) have been reported to be associated with a reduced risk of MS. A deficiency in plasma vitamin C is associated with reduced fat oxidation during aerobic exercise [13,14,15,16]. Public Health 2018, 15, 2178; doi:10.3390/ijerph15102178 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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