Metabolic syndrome as a predictor of cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes in Koreans

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the presence of the NCEP-ATP III defined metabolic syndrome (MS) is associated with the future development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes in Koreans. Methods: The study subjects were recruited from among those who visited the Health Promotion Center at the Samsung Medical Center. 2435 subjects (1761 men and 674 women), 20 to 78 years of age, were enrolled and evaluated for the development of new onset CVD (coronary heart disease [CHD] and stroke) during a mean 8.7 years of follow-up. Results: The prevalence of the MS at baseline was 21.7% (382/1761) and 11.4% (77/674) in men and women respectively, and the MS was found to be associated with the risk for CVD in both men and women (OR, 1.98; 95% CI, 1.30-3.03 in men, 4.04; 95% CI, 1.78-9.14 in women). More specifically, the MS was associated with the risk for future CHD (OR, 3.68; 95% CI, 1.93-7.01) in men and stroke (OR, 3.96; 95% CI, 1.58-9.94) in women. However, no statistical differences were found between the HOMA-IR tertiles with regard to the risk for CVD. After controlling for fasting plasma glucose (FPG) levels, the predictive power of the MS for an increased risk for diabetes was dramatically decreased (OR, from 3.69 to 1.77) in men, and it no longer was a predictor in women. Conclusions: The NCEP-defined MS was found to be associated with the risk for future CVD, i.e., CHD in men and stroke in women.