Association between serum vitamin D status and metabolic syndrome in Korean young men

This study examined the relations of serum vitamin D levels to body fatness, cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), and metabolic risk factors in young adults in Korea.

Between 2007 and 2009, 799 young men completed a health examination. Body fatness, CRF based on a maximal treadmill exercise test, and measurements of metabolic risk factors were measured in study participants. Participants were classified by serum vitamin D levels as deficient (<12.5 ng·mL), insufficient (≥12.5 to <20 ng·mL), and sufficient (>20 ng·mL) and by CRF as unfit (lowest 20%) and fit (remaining 80%) based on age-standardized distribution of V˙O2max values in this study population. Body fatness, CRF, and metabolic risk factors were evaluated according to serum vitamin D classification. A clustered metabolic risk score was computed by summing standardized scores for waist circumference, resting blood pressures, triacylglycerols, the inverse of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, glucose, and insulin.

Linear decreases in body fatness and metabolic risk factors were observed, as was a linear increase for CRF across incremental vitamin D categories. A linear decrease was found in the clustered metabolic risk score across incremental vitamin D categories. Compared to the fit group (reference), the unfit group had significantly higher risks for serum vitamin D inadequacy before and after adjusting for age, smoking, and body fatness parameters.

The findings of the study suggest that increasing vitamin D intake, eating a healthy diet, and getting enough outdoor physical activity should be promoted as nonpharmacologic means to improve CRF and prevent a clustering of metabolic risk factors in young adults.