PURPOSE: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) generally varies depending on its diagnostic definition, and many different definitions inevitably lead to substantial confusion and lack of comparability between studies. Despite extensive research, there is still no gold standard for the definition of MetS, which continues to be a matter of debate. In this study, we investigate whether and to what extent its individual components are related to the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Korean population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used data from the 2005 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which is a nationally representative survey of the noninstitutionalized civilian population. The study sample consisted of 1,406 Korean adults (587 men, 819 women) who were diagnosed with MetS based on the revised National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) criteria. Central obesity is defined as a waist circumference cutoff point reported in Asia-Pacific criteria for obesity based on waist circumference by the World Health Organization. CVD was defined as presence of stroke, myocardial infarction, or angina pectoris on a medical history questionnaire. RESULTS: The CVD prevalence among the subjects was 6.8% for men and 8.6% for women. Besides age, the components of MetS showing a significant difference in the number of CVD events were high fasting glucose (FG) in men and high blood pressure (BP) and high FG in women. After adjusting for gender and age, high FG was shown to yield a significant difference (odds ratio: unadjusted 2.08, adjusted 1.81), alone among all MetS components. However, after adjusting for only age, no significant difference was found. CONCLUSION: Fasting glucose level is the highest predicting factor for CVD in Korean patients with MetS based on the revised NECP definition.
Age Factors ; Blood Glucose/analysis ; Cardiovascular Diseases/epidemiology/*etiology ; Chi-Square Distribution ; Female ; Health Promotion ; Health Surveys ; Humans ; Hypertension/complications/epidemiology ; Male ; Metabolic Syndrome X/complications/*diagnosis/epidemiology ; Middle Aged ; Odds Ratio ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Risk Factors ; Sex Factors

The prevalence of reflux esophagitis is increasing in Korea. To estimate the prevalence and clinical characteristics of reflux esophagitis in healthy subjects, we retrospectively examined the medical records of healthy subjects undergoing a routine check-up from October 2004 to September 2005. A total of 6,082 (3,590 men, mean age 44+/-10 yr) subjects were enrolled in this study. The prevalence of reflux esophagitis in healthy subjects was 10.5%. According to the univariate analysis, male sex (odds ratio [OR] 3.49, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.84-4.30), smoking history (OR 1.91, 95% CI 1.60-2.28), body mass index (BMI) >30 kg/m2 (OR 2.13, 95% CI 1.37-3.33), total cholesterol >250 mg/dL (OR 1.50, 95% CI 1.05-2.14), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol > or =160 mg/dL (OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.08-2.14), triglyceride > or =150 mg/dL (OR 1.92, 95% CI 1.61-2.30), high blood pressure (BP) (OR 1.46, 95% CI 1.20-1.76), and fasting glucose > or =110 mg/dL (OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.13-1.86) were significantly associated with reflux esophagitis (all p<0.05). However, age, alcohol drinking and Helicobacter pylori infection were not associated with reflux esophagitis. In conclusiosn, significant relationships of reflux esophagitis with obesity, low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, high triglyceride, high BP, and elevated fasting glucose suggested that reflux esophagitis might represent the disease spectrum of the metabolic syndrome.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Data Interpretation, Statistical ; Esophagitis, Peptic/*diagnosis/*epidemiology/etiology ; Female ; Humans ; Korea/epidemiology ; Male ; Medical Records ; Metabolic Syndrome X/*complications/diagnosis ; Middle Aged ; Odds Ratio ; Prevalence ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors

Either chronic inflammation or metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with renal impairment. This cross-sectional study was designed to investigate the relationship between elevated white blood cell (WBC) counts and chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage 3 or more according to the presence of MetS in adult Koreans. In total, 5,291 subjects (> or = 20 yr-old) participating in the 2005 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination were included. CKD stage 3 or more was defined as having an estimated glomerular filtration rate below 60 mL/min/1.73 m2, as calculated using the formula from the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease study. The odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for CKD stage 3 or more in the highest WBC quartile (> or = 7,200 cells/microL) was 1.70 (1.17-2.39) after adjusting for MetS and other covariates, compared with the lowest WBC quartile (< 5,100 cells/microL). In subjects with MetS, the prevalence risk for CKD stage 3 or more in the highest WBC quartile was 2.25 (1.28-3.95) even after fully adjusting for confounding variables. In contrast, this positive association between WBC quartile and CKD stage 3 or more disappeared in subjects without MetS. Low-grade inflammation is significantly associated with CKD stage 3 or more in subjects with MetS but not in those without MetS.
Adult ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Glomerular Filtration Rate ; Humans ; Inflammation/complications/*diagnosis ; Kidney Failure, Chronic/*epidemiology/etiology ; Leukocyte Count ; Male ; Metabolic Syndrome X/complications/*diagnosis ; Middle Aged ; Nutrition Surveys ; Odds Ratio ; Prevalence ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Risk Factors ; Severity of Illness Index

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is known to be closely associated with various metabolic abnormalities including metabolic syndrome. However, there are few data available on the association of metabolic syndrome with the sonographically fatty liver and normal range of liver function test. The purposes of this study were to find the incidence of ultrasonographic fatty liver with normal range of liver function test and to evaluate the association with metabolic syndrome in apparently healthy Korean adults. METHODS: We examined 538 men and women, aged 30-80 years, who participated in a health screening test. Among the people with normal ALT level, we compared clinical characteristics and prevalence of metabolic disorders according to the presence of nonalcoholic sonographyally fatty liver, and then they were subdivided into upper normal range and lower normal range of ALT level. RESULTS: Compared to the people without sonographic fatty liver, people with sonographic fatty liver and normal range of ALT level had odds ratios for metabolic syndrome of 4.53, insulin resistance 4.83, hypertension 2.69, dyslipidemia 6.90, and obesity 5.39, respectively. Furthermore, the prevalence of metabolic syndromes and other metabolic disorders were increased in both sonographically fatty liver group or ultrasonographically normal liver group with upper normal range of ALT level compared with lower normal ALT level (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The nonalcoholic sonographically fatty liver was strongly associated with metabolic syndrome and common metabolic abnormalities even with normal liver function test.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Alanine Transaminase/analysis ; Chi-Square Distribution ; Fatty Liver/complications/diagnosis/*ultrasonography ; Female ; Humans ; Insulin Resistance ; Liver Function Tests ; Male ; Metabolic Syndrome X/*diagnosis/epidemiology/etiology ; Middle Aged ; Odds Ratio ; Questionnaires ; ROC Curve ; Risk Factors

BACKGROUND/AIMS: An association between serum uric acid and cancer risk has been noted over the past few decades. There is ongoing debate about whether hyperuricemia represents an independent risk factor for colorectal neoplasm. We investigated the association between serum uric acid and prevalence of colorectal adenoma considering numerous confounding factors. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed with individuals who underwent a routine health check-up examination, including a screening colonoscopy and blood chemistry. The association between serum uric acid and prevalence of colorectal adenoma was estimated from the results of a logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Of the 1,066 participants, 402 had colorectal adenoma (37.7%). In univariate models, the prevalence of colorectal adenoma was higher in participants in the fourth quartile uric acid level, compared to those in the first quartile uric acid level (OR, 1.67; 95% CI, 1.17-2.42; p=0.004). However, no significant association was detected between serum uric acid and prevalence of colorectal adenoma in multiple logistic regression analysis. A number of metabolic syndrome components exhibited a strong association with the prevalence of colorectal adenoma in the multivariate model (OR, 3.46 for highest vs. lowest; 95% CI, 1.30-9.20; p=0.021). Moreover, serum uric acid was strongly associated with metabolic syndrome-associated variables, including waist circumference, fasting blood glucose, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, triglyceride, and high-density lipoprotein. CONCLUSIONS: Uric acid is not an independent risk factor for colorectal adenoma but is a risk indicator for metabolic syndrome-related colorectal adenoma.
Adenoma/*diagnosis/epidemiology/etiology ; Adult ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Blood Glucose/analysis ; Blood Pressure ; Colonoscopy ; Colorectal Neoplasms/*diagnosis/epidemiology/etiology ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Metabolic Syndrome X/*diagnosis ; Middle Aged ; Odds Ratio ; Prevalence ; Republic of Korea ; Risk Factors ; Triglycerides/blood ; Uric Acid/*blood/urine ; Waist Circumference

The principal objective of this study was to determine whether visceral fat or liver fat is a more relevant risk factor for metabolic syndrome. A total of 98 subjects aged 18-65 yr, who visited a health promotion center in a university hospital, were enrolled in this study. Metabolic syndrome was diagnosed based on the modified National Cholesterol Education Program's Adult Treatment Panel III report (NCEP-ATPIII) criteria. We defined the visceral obesity as a visceral fat area of > or = 100 cm2 which was acquired by CT at the L4-5 level. To evaluate fatty liver, we applied a liver-to-spleen attenuation ratio < or = 1.1 as measured by CT at the T12 level. We employed binary logistic regression models that used the presence or absence of metabolic syndrome as a dependent variable and age, sex, and the presence or absence of visceral obesity and fatty liver as independent variables. Visceral obesity was not found to be an independent variable as a risk factor of metabolic syndrome (odds ratio 2.7; 95% confidence interval 0.55-13.30), but fatty liver was found to be significant in this model (odds ratio 71.3; 95% CI 13.04-389.53). Our study suggests that liver fat may be a more important risk factor than visceral fat in terms of its association with metabolic syndrome.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Blood Pressure ; Body Composition ; Demography ; Fatty Liver/*complications ; Female ; Humans ; Intra-Abdominal Fat/*anatomy & histology/radiography ; Liver/anatomy & histology/radiography ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Metabolic Syndrome X/diagnosis/epidemiology/*etiology ; Middle Aged ; Odds Ratio ; Risk Factors ; Sex Factors ; Spleen/anatomy & histology/radiography ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Young Adult