Mineral Balance and Metabolic Syndrome in Adolescents: Focus on Calcium and Phosphorus Intake

The incidence of metabolic syndrome, a chronic disease, tends to increase in adolescence, but has not been a high priority in delivery of health services. This study was to investigate the relationship between metabolic syndrome prevalence and mineral balance such as calcium and phosphorus intake among Korean adolescents. This study is a cross-sectional descriptive study using data from the 7th Korean national health and nutrition examination survey (KNHANES) VII-3 (2018) and the 8th KNHANES VII-1 (2019). A total of 895 adolescents aged 12 to 18 who filled in mineral intake questionnaires were analyzed using SPSS. According to their responses, only 2.9% of the subjects had a calcium: phosphorus intake ratio of 1:1, which is the recommended ratio. Daily phosphorus intake was significantly correlated with systolic blood pressure (r = 0.448, p < 0.001), waist circumference (r = 0.115, p = 0.001), HDL cholesterol (r = -0.113, p = 0.002), and daily calcium intake (r = 0.697, p = 0.001). And, as the serum creatinine increased by 1, the risk of metabolic syndrome increased 16.5 times (OR: 16.452, 95% CI: 1.701-159.136, p < 0.05). Excessive phosphorus intake and high creatinine levels may increase the risk of metabolic syndrome in adolescents. Therefore, education is necessary to encourage adolescents to follow a balanced diet that contains essential minerals. In addition, it is suggested to expand the metabolic syndrome prevention education, which has been largely targeted towards adults.