An Analysis of the Associations Between Gender and Metabolic Syndrome Components in Korean Adults: a National Cross-sectional Study

Background: This study aimed to examine the associations between gender and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) components among Korean adults by age and body mass index (BMI) subgroups.

Methods: This study obtained data from the sixth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2013-2015, a cross-sectional and nationally representative survey conducted by the Korean Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention.

Results: Of the 11,136 subjects included in this study, there were 4627 (41.5%) men and 6509 (58.5%) women. Compared to women, men were at higher risks of hypertension (HTN) (odds ratio [OR], 1.508; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.320-1.723), diabetes mellitus (DM) (OR, 1.638; 95% CI, 1.333-2.013), prediabetes (OR, 1.549; 95% CI, 1.355-1.771), and hypertriglyceridemia (OR, 2.466; 95% CI, 2.097-2.900), but at lower risks of low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (OR, 0.346; 95% CI, 0.307-0.390) and high waist circumference (WC) (OR, 0.780; 95% CI, 0.647-0.940). Among subjects with BMI < 25 kg/m, the risks of HTN, DM, prediabetes, and hypertriglyceridemia were higher in men than in women, whereas the risks of low HDL level and high WC were lower in men. Similarly, among subjects with BMI ≥25 kg/m, compared to women, men were at higher risks of HTN, DM, prediabetes, and hypertriglyceridemia, but at lower risks of low HDL level.

Conclusions: The difference in the prevalence of MS components between men and women can be partially explained by the different effects of gender on the etiology of MS components. The results showed that gender was likely to contribute to an increase in the prevalence of MS components. HTN, DM, prediabetes, and hypertriglyceridemia were more prevalent in men than in women, whereas the prevalence of low HDL level and high WC were higher in women than in men. Similar results were found in subgroup analyses by age and BMI.