Association Between Duration of Reproductive Years and Metabolic Syndrome.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) has gradually increased in recent years. MetS has been associated with age at menarche and menopause; however, the association between MetS and the reproductive span remains unclear. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study examined MetS and the reproductive span among 1,214 participants of the 2014 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, a stratified, complex, multistage, probability cluster survey conducted by the Division of Chronic Disease Surveillance of the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention since 1998. MetS was defined by using the joint interim statement of the International Diabetes Federation; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; and American Heart Association. The reproductive span or duration of reproductive years was calculated from age at menarche to age at menopause for postmenopausal women. RESULTS: The prevalence of MetS in this study was 36% (437 of 1,214). In multivariate analysis adjusted for age, longer reproductive years were associated with a higher prevalence of MetS (odds ratio [OR] 1.059, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.055-1.063). However, after adjusting for covariates (age, residential area, income, dyslipidemia medication, education, current smoking, regular exercise, alcohol consumption, body mass index, years after menopause, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and white and red blood cell counts), longer reproductive years were associated with a lower prevalence of MetS (OR 0.751, 95% CI 0.745-0.747). CONCLUSION: Longer reproductive years were significantly associated with a decreased prevalence of MetS.

Habit of Eating Breakfast Is Associated with a Lower Risk of Hypertension.

BACKGROUND: The association between skipping breakfast and cardio-metabolic syndrome is well known. However, there are very few Korean studies about the habit of eating breakfast and hypertension. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between the habit of eating breakfast and hypertension in a healthy Korean population. METHODS: Participants in the 2014 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (KNHANES) were enrolled for this study. Medical history, including hypertension, was measured using a 24-hour recall method. The habit of eating breakfast was estimated from self-reported questionnaires and was classified into two groups: the eating breakfast group, defined as those who ate breakfast more than 5 times per week, and the not eating breakfast group, defined as those who did not eat any breakfast for a week. RESULTS: The crude odds ratio of skipping breakfast for the prevalence of hypertension was 0.366. However, after adjusting for all considerable confounding factors (age, sex, regular exercise, current smoking, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, body mass index, waist circumference, and red blood cell counts), not eating breakfast was associated with a higher risk of HTN (OR = 1.065; 95% CI = 1.057-1.073; p-value < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The habit of eating breakfast was associated with a lower risk of hypertension among healthy Korean adults.