Relationship between Biological Markers, Metabolic Components, Lifestyles, and Impaired Fasting Glucose in Male Workers

BACKGROUND: Confirmation regarding the association between impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and biomarkers in addition to metabolic components and lifestyle factors are required in the occupational filed for preventing diabetes mellitus. METHODS: The study was performed in working men aged 30 to 60 years old, who were not taking medication for any metabolic diseases. The author measured the serum levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP), uric acid, and plasma fibrinogen as potential biomarkers of IFG. RESULTS: The mean serum uric acid, log-transformed serum CRP, and plasma fibrinogen levels were higher in the subjects with IFG than in those without IFG. Multivariate analysis revealed significant associations between the presence of IFG and age, log-transformed value of serum CRP, increased waist circumference, hypertension, and hypertriglyceridemia, with odds ratios of 1.1 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.08 to 1.1; P<0.001), 1.8 (95% CI, 1.4 to 2.3; P<0.001), 1.3 (95% CI, 1.09 to 1.7; P<0.01), 1.9 (95% CI, 1.6 to 2.3; P<0.001), and 1.3 (95% CI, 1.04 to 1.6; P<0.05), respectively, for the presence of IFG. CONCLUSION: Serum CRP, age, and three metabolic components were associated with IFG. In contrast, there were no significant associations between IFG and lifestyle factors, serum uric acid or plasma fibrinogen.

Comparison of Predictability of Cardiovascular Events between Each Metabolic Component in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome Based on the Revised National Cholesterol Education Program Criteria

PURPOSE: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) generally varies depending on its diagnostic definition, and many different definitions inevitably lead to substantial confusion and lack of comparability between studies. Despite extensive research, there is still no gold standard for the definition of MetS, which continues to be a matter of debate. In this study, we investigate whether and to what extent its individual components are related to the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Korean population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used data from the 2005 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which is a nationally representative survey of the noninstitutionalized civilian population. The study sample consisted of 1,406 Korean adults (587 men, 819 women) who were diagnosed with MetS based on the revised National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) criteria. Central obesity is defined as a waist circumference cutoff point reported in Asia-Pacific criteria for obesity based on waist circumference by the World Health Organization. CVD was defined as presence of stroke, myocardial infarction, or angina pectoris on a medical history questionnaire. RESULTS: The CVD prevalence among the subjects was 6.8% for men and 8.6% for women. Besides age, the components of MetS showing a significant difference in the number of CVD events were high fasting glucose (FG) in men and high blood pressure (BP) and high FG in women. After adjusting for gender and age, high FG was shown to yield a significant difference (odds ratio: unadjusted 2.08, adjusted 1.81), alone among all MetS components. However, after adjusting for only age, no significant difference was found. CONCLUSION: Fasting glucose level is the highest predicting factor for CVD in Korean patients with MetS based on the revised NECP definition.