Metabolic Syndrome in Korean Cancer Survivors and Family Members: A Study in a Health Promotion Center

This cross-sectional study evaluated the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in cancer survivors and family members. Subjects were 48,934 adults (24,786 men, 24,148 women) aged ≥40yr who receive a routine health examination at 1 hospital from January 2010 to December 2012. There were 2468 cancer survivors, 18,211 with cancer patients in the family, and 28,255 noncancer subjects, who never experienced cancer and whose family members either. Associations between MetS and cancer experience were assessed using multiple logistic regression analysis. The odds ratio (OR) of MetS in female cancer survivors was significantly higher than noncancer subjects after adjusting for age, smoking, physical activity, and alcohol intake (OR = 1.22, 95% confidence intervals: 1.02-1.47]. However, the OR of MetS for male survivors did not differ from that of noncancer subjects. Gastric cancer survivors had a lower OR of MetS than noncancer subjects (0.37, 0.27-0.50). ORs of breast cancer (1.49, 1.00-2.23) and prostate cancer survivors (1.46, 1.07-1.99) were higher than the OR of MetS for noncancer subjects. There was no difference in the OR of MetS between the family members of cancer patients and non-cancer subjects. These findings suggest that the odds of MetS for cancer survivors may differ by cancer type and by sex.