Association between Smoking Status and Metabolic Syndrome in Men

Oh, Jung Eun

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Smoking is associated with increased insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is a common feature of metabolic syndrome. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between smoking and metabolic syndrome among Korean men.
METHODS
Subjects for this cross-sectional study included 6,281 males over the age of 20 who visited the hospital for a health check-up. Anthropometric measurements and biochemical studies were conducted. Smoking status of subjects was obtained by self-reported questionnaires. The metabolic syndrome was defined according to the revised NCEP-ATP III criteria. The risk of metabolic syndrome and its components according to smoking status was examined using the multiple logistic regression analysis.
RESULTS
The overall prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 28.8% and it was significantly (P<0.001) higher in former smokers (31.4%) compared to never smokers (24.5%) and current smokers (30.1%). After adjustment for age, body mass index, alcohol consumption, and exercise, the odds ratio for metabolic syndrome in former smokers was 1.29 (95% CI, 1.09-1.54), while for current smokers who were 1-10, 11-20, and >20 pack year smokers the OR was 1.11 (95% CI, 0.91-1.33), 1.28 (95% CI, 1.07-1.54), and 1.38 (95% CI, 1.12-1.70), respectively, compared with nonsmokers.
CONCLUSION
These findings show that former smokers and current smokers with greater than 10 pack year history are at significantly higher risk for metabolic syndrome compared with never smokers. Especially, the risk of metabolic syndrome in current smokers is positively associated with the number of pack years of smoking.