1.
The impact of educational attainment on cardiorespiratory fitness and metabolic syndrome in Korean adults.
Chang, M, Lee, HY, Seo, SM, Koh, YS, Park, HJ, Kim, PJ, Seung, KB
Medicine. 2020;99(17):e19865
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Lower socioeconomic status is associated with worse health outcomes, and in particular with cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome. This association is thought to be mediated through lifestyle factors such as physical activity, diet and smoking. Level of education is commonly used as an indicator for socioeconomic status. This Korean cross-sectional study, involving 988 healthy adults, evaluated the association between level of education (<12 years, 12-16 years, >16 years), cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and metabolic syndrome. People in the highest education group were more likely to be younger and male. There was no difference in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome, hypertension or diabetes mellitus between the three educational attainment groups, 36.1% overall had metabolic syndrome. There was also no difference in dyslipidaemia, physical activity or smoking status. Whilst BMI was similar in all groups, the higher the level of education, the lower the body fat and the higher lean mass and CRF were. Although education was not associated with metabolic syndrome, better CRF was associated with lower rates of metabolic syndrome. Limitations of the study as pointed out by the authors include the retrospective design and a potentially non-representative sample.
Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between educational attainment and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) as a predictor of metabolic syndrome in a Korean population.In this single-center, retrospective cross-sectional study, 988 healthy adults (601 men and 387 women) who underwent regular health check-up in Seoul St. Mary's Hospital were analyzed. Educational attainment was categorized into 3 groups according to their final grade of educational course: middle or high school (≤12 years of education), college or university (12-16 years of education), and postgraduate (≥16 years of education). CRF was assessed by cardiopulmonary exercise testing, biceps strength, hand grip strength, bioelectrical impedance analysis, and echocardiography. Metabolic syndrome was diagnosed according to the 3rd report of the National Cholesterol Education Program.Among the subjects, 357 (36.1%) had metabolic syndrome. The postgraduate group had significantly higher peak oxygen consumption (VO2), biceps strength, hand grip strength, and peak expiratory flow than other groups (all P < .001). This group showed better left ventricular diastolic function, in terms of deceleration time of mitral inflow, maximal tricuspid valve regurgitation velocity, and left atrial volume index than other groups. Peak VO2 (%) was significantly correlated with all the parameters of metabolic syndrome, including insulin resistance (r = -0.106, P = .002), waist circumference (r = -0.387, P < .001), triglyceride (r = -0.109, P = .001), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (r = 0.219, P < .001), systolic blood pressure (r = -0.143, P < .001), and diastolic blood pressure (r = -0.177, P < .001). And Peak VO2 (%) was found to be a predictor of metabolic syndrome (adjusted β = .988, P < .001). However, the level of education was not able to predict metabolic syndrome (postgraduate group; β = .955, P = .801).Although the postgraduate group had better CRF than other groups, the educational attainment could not exclusively predict metabolic syndrome in this study. Further research is needed to reveal the socioeconomic mechanism of developing metabolic syndrome.
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Associations of Meal Timing and Frequency with Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome among Korean Adults.
Ha, K, Song, Y
Nutrients. 2019;11(10)
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The timing of food intake appears to affect the robustness of circadian rhythms in metabolic organs, and circadian rhythm disruption is emerging as a new risk factor for cardiovascular disease. As major risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, obesity and metabolic syndrome are critical worldwide issues. In Korea, 3 in 10 adults have obesity or the metabolic syndrome. The aim of this study was to explore meal timing and frequency using various variables, including nightly fasting duration and specific time periods such as morning and night, and to examine their associations with obesity and metabolic syndrome in Korean adults using national survey data. The study used data from the 2013–2017 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), which is a continuous annual survey conducted by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Results indicated that a greater number of eating episodes was associated with lower prevalence of metabolic abnormalities in men. Furthermore, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was inversely associated with morning eating in both men and women, whereas it was positively associated with night eating in men. Authors conclude that having desirable eating patterns, including eating in the morning and avoiding eating after 21:00, and an appropriate sleep schedule may be helpful for reducing the risks of obesity and metabolic syndrome, independently of fasting duration.
Abstract
Emerging studies indicate that meal timing is linked to cardiometabolic risks by deterioration of circadian rhythms, however limited evidence is available in humans. This large-scale cross-sectional study explored the associations of meal timing and frequency with obesity and metabolic syndrome among Korean adults. Meal timing was defined as nightly fasting duration and morning, evening, and night eating, and meal frequency was estimated as the number of daily eating episodes using a single-day 24-hour dietary recall method. Meal frequency was inversely associated with prevalence of abdominal obesity, elevated blood pressure, and elevated triglycerides in men only. Independent of the nightly fasting duration and eating episodes, morning eating was associated with a lower prevalence of metabolic syndrome (odds ratio (OR), 0.73; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.57-0.93 for men and OR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.54-0.89 for women) than no morning eating, whereas night eating was associated with a 48% higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome (OR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.15-1.90) than no night eating in men only. Longer fasting duration and less sleep were associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome. These findings suggest that overall eating patterns, including energy distribution across the day, eating frequency, and sleep duration, rather than fasting duration alone, are related to cardiometabolic risks in free-living Korean adults.