The Association between Distal Colon Adenoma and the Metabolic Syndrome and Lifestyle Factors in Male Examinees in a University Hospital

BACKGROUND: According to previous epidemiologic studies, the metabolic syndrome, dietary and lifestyle factors were associated with colon polyps. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess the relationship between the risk of the colorectal adenoma incidence and the individual components of the metabolic syndrome with lifestyle factors such as drinking, cigarette smoking and physical activity. METHODS: Sigmoidoscopic examination for colon cancer screening was performed from January 2002 to December 2003 at the Health Promotion Center of Ulsan University Hospital in Ulsan, Korea. A total of 1,565 subjects underwent satisfactory sigmoidoscopy. The subjects with a history of colon cancer or polyps or inflammatory bowel disease were excluded from the study. Alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking and other confounding factors were included as covariates in the models. RESULTS: After adjusting for age, physical activity,smoking and alcohol intake, the subjects of metabolic syndrome (> or =3 vs. 0 components) combined with cigarette smoking had a positive association with colorectal adenoma incidence (OR 3.63, 95% CI 1.49~8.89). Physical activity was negatively associated the risk of the colorectal adenoma incidence (OR 0.60 95% CI 0.44~0.81). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that clustering of components of the metabolic syndrome combined with cigarette smoking significantly increased the colorectal adenoma risk, but physical activity reduced the risk of colorectal adenoma incidence in Korean adult males after multivariate adjustment.

Effectiveness of Worksite Nutrition Counseling for Hyperlipidemic Employees in Kyung-buk Area

This study was aimed to implement and evaluate worksite nutrition counseling for industrial workers with hyperlipidemia in Kyung-buk area. Forty-six subjects consisted of 41 men and 5 women who were diagnosed hyperlipidemia though health examination had their average age, 40.3+/-.0 and half of them were office workers and one third labor workers. Twenty-eight subjects had fatty liver with or without other complications and six had gastric problems. The subjects were interviewed using questionnaires on food habit, food frequency, smoking, drinking and exercise, and they were given nutrition counseling which was continued for 7 months. Desirable food selections were practiced using foods or food models and various written materials individually or as group during lunch times and breaks. After counseling, smoking and drinking were reduced and exercise and food habits were improved. Average levels of initial serum total cholesterol(T-Chol), HDL-cholesterol(HDL-Chol) and triglyceride(TG) were 214+/-4, 45.07+/-.14 and 281+/-3mg/dl respectively and were not changed significantly except 2.30+/-.04mg/dl increase of HDL-Chol(p<0.1) after nutrition counseling. However, subjects who improved their food habits and smoking, drinking and exercise habits had higher tendency to have reduced serum T-Chol and TG levels compared with those who drank less. Food habit score was negatively correlated with serum TG levels(r=-0.378, p<0.01). It is concluded that an efficient and regular nutrition counseling by dietitian at worksite is beneficial for health of industrial workers.