Binge Drinking and Its Relation to Metabolic Syndrome in Korean Adult Men

BACKGROUND: It is reported that heavy drinking increases the risk of metabolic syndrome. But there have been few studies on the relationship between the intensity of drinking and metabolic syndrome when drinking the same amount of alcohol. This study aimed to assess the relationship between the frequency of binge drinking and metabolic syndrome in Korean adult men. METHODS: From the database of the 4th and 5th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted in 2007-2010, data of 8,305 adult men (≥19 years of age) was included in this analysis. Cross-sectional relationship between the frequency of binge drinking and metabolic syndrome was investigated adjusting for pure alcohol consumed per day. RESULTS: Adjusting for various confounders including pure alcohol consumed per day, the adjusted odds ratio for metabolic syndrome in those in higher frequency (more than 1/wk) binge drinking group was 1.62 (95% confidence interval, 1.30 to 2.03; P for trend = <0.001) compared to those in the non-binge drinking group. Through analysis of the relationship between pure alcohol consumed per day and metabolic syndrome, it was found that pure alcohol consumed per day had a positive relation to metabolic syndrome in the higher frequency binge drinking group (P for trend = 0.041). The relationship was inverse in the non-binge drinking group (P for trend = 0.002). CONCLUSION: Our study found a positive relationship between frequency of binge drinking and metabolic syndrome in adult men. And the effect of drinking on metabolic syndrome may depend on the frequency of binge drinking. Further studies are required to confirm this association.