Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome According to Causes of Physical Activity Limitation

One cause of metabolic syndrome (MetS) is inactivity. This study analyzed the prevalence of MetS due to causes of activity limitation (AL) in adults over 40 years old.

Participants included 2885 people aged 40-79 (1198 men and 1687 women) who completed the Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey (KNHANES) conducted between 2013 and 2017. They were divided into two groups based on age: the middle age group (MA) included 1148 total participants, 515 men and 633 women from 40-59 years old; the older age group (OA) included 1737 total participants, 683 men and 1054 women from 60-79 years old. MetS was diagnosed according to the Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program and the Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (NCEP-ATP III). Logistic regression was conducted to calculate the odds ratio for MetS prevalence.

The prevalence of MetS in people with AL increased 1.432-fold in the MA men group, 1.511-fold in the OA men group, 1.546-fold in the MA women group, and 1.565-fold in the OA women group. There were several causes of AL; people with physical activity for diabetes mellitus and hypertension increased MetS prevalence in both sexes and all age groups: MA men group (OR=3.216, 95% CI=1.852-7.354, P=0.034), MA women group (OR=2.159, 95% CI=1.854-5.346, P=0.032), OA men group (OR=3.200, 95% CI=1.235-7.841, P=0.009), and OA women group (OR=3.444, 95% CI=1.310-6.627, P=0.008). Also, mental problems in the MA men group (OR=2.284, 95% CI=1.591-4.986, P=0.012) and OA men group (OR=1.149, 95% CI=1.017-2.941, P=0.012), and musculoskeletal problems in the MA women group (OR=1.784, 95% CI=1.102-2.902, P=0.021) and OA women group (OR=1.459, 95% CI=1.054-1.993, P=0.004) increased the prevalence.

The prevalence of MetS due to activity limitation was increased in MA and OA groups. Activity limitation increased the MetS prevalence from 1.4- to 1.5-times, Therefore, to prevent metabolic syndrome, physical activity should be increased, and guidelines should be presented according to the activity limitation causes, age, and sex.