Prevalence and trends of metabolic syndrome in Korea: Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey 1998-2001

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a major international health problem. Limited information is available about the prevalence of MetS in Asia, especially in Korea. Objective: To examine the prevalence and trends of MetS in a Korean population. In addition, we investigated the risk factors associated with MetS. Design and Participants: A total of 7445 participants aged ≥20 years from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey (KNHNS) 1998 and 5964 participants from the KNHNS 2001 were included in this analysis. The KNHNS is a cross-sectional health survey of a nationally representative sample of the Korean population. The prevalence of MetS was determined using the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III criteria and the Asia-Pacific criteria for obesity based on waist circumference (APC-WC). Results: Using the ATP III criteria, the age-adjusted prevalence of MetS among Korean adults was 15.7% (13.7% male, 17.8% female) in 1998 and 14.4% (13.0% male, 16.2% female) in 2001. Using the APC-WC criteria, the prevalence was 21.6% (19.4% male, 23.9% female) in 1998 and 21.4% (20.1% male, 23.4% female) in 2001. Of the five MetS components, increasing trends were found between 1998 and 2001 in the prevalence of hypertriglyceridaemia, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and central obesity for both men and women. Age, sex, body mass index and a family history of diabetes were associated with MetS. Conclusions: These results from a representative sample show that MetS is common in Korean adults. A systemic public health programme is required to prevent future increases in diabetes and cardiovascular complications.