Abstract
Diet plays a crucial role as a modifiable risk factor related to the development of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its cluster.
Constitution type of traditional Korean medicine has shown accuracy to predict the risk for MetS. We attempted to examine the
association between nutritional status, pre-MetS, and its cluster in Korean adults by their constitution type.
Participants aged 30 to 55 years who had no cancer or cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) were assigned to join in the present study.
Pre-MetS was defined as ≥2 of the following factors: abdominal obesity; elevated triglycerides (TG); reduced high-density lipoprotein
cholesterol (HDL-C); elevated blood pressure (BP); and elevated fasting plasma glucose (FPG). Constitution type was categorized
into Tae-Eumin (TE) or non-TE. Dietary assessment of the subjects were surveyed using a short-form of the food frequency
questionnaire (FFQ) and the nutrition quotient (NQ), which uses 4 factors, namely, balance, diversity, moderation, and dietary
behavior.
A total of 986 subjects were evaluated by constitution type with MetS status. Of these subjects, 48.6% had pre-MetS, 89.5% were
obese and had the highest waist circumference (WC) in Pre-MetS TE. BP, FPG, TG were higher, while HDL-C was lower, than normal
TE or non-TE both in Pre-MetS TE and non-TE. The prevalence of pre-MetS was positively associated with lower status of dietary
behavior (odds ratio [ORs]: 2.153, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.179–3.931) while negatively related to higher vegetables and fruits
intakes (ORs: 0.594, 95% CI: 0.359–0.983) in TE. Lower status of NQ had about 2 times higher risk of Pre-MetS (ORs: 1.855, 95%
CI: 1.018–3.380) and abdominal obesity (ORs: 2.035, 95% CI: 1.097–3.775) in TE compared with higher status of NQ after
controlling for covariates.
Poor diet was a key contributor to the development of Pre-MetS and abdominal obesity in Korean adults with TE. Customized
nutrition care and integrated medicinal approaches are strongly suggested to conduct optimal preventive care for people who are
vulnerable to health risk.
Abbreviations: BMI = body mass index, BP = blood pressure, CI = confidence interval, FPG = fasting plasma glucose, HDL-C =
high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, MetS = metabolic syndrome, NQ = nutrition quotient, OR = odds ratio, Pre-MetS = premetabolic syndrome, SC = Sasang constitution, SE = So-eumin, SY = So-yangin, TE = Tae-eumin, TG = triglycerides, WC = waist
circumference. |
