Incidence of metabolic syndrome and relative importance of five components as a predictor of metabolic syndrome: 5-year follow-up study in Korea.

The aim of this study was to describe the incidence of metabolic syndrome and to identify five components as metabolic syndrome predictors. The final study included 1,095 subjects enrolled in a rural part of Daegu Metropolitan City, Korea for a cohort study in 2003. Of these, 762 (69.6%) subjects had participated in the repeat survey. During the five-year follow-up, incidence density was significantly higher for women than for men (men, 30.0/1,000 person-years; women, 46.4/1,000 person-years). In both men and women, incidence of metabolic syndrome showed a significant increase with increasing number of metabolic syndrome components at baseline. Compared with individuals presenting none of components at baseline, relative risks were increased 1.22 (men; 95% CI, 0.43-3.51), 2.21 (women; 95% CI, 0.98-4.97) times more for individuals with one component of metabolic syndrome and 5.30 (men; 95% CI, 2.31-12.13), 5.53 (women; 95% CI, 2.78-11.01) times more for those who had two components. In multivariate analysis, the most powerful risk factor for metabolic syndrome was abdominal obesity in men and low HDL-cholesterol in women (adjusted relative risk, 3.28, 2.53, respectively). Consequently, finding a high risk group for metabolic syndrome according to gender and prevention of metabolic syndrome through lifestyle modification are essential.