The Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome and Health-Related Behavior Changes: The Korea National Health Examination Survey

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of health-related behavior changes on the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS). This study utilized data from the Korea National Health Examination Survey of adults aged 40 or older who underwent health screening in 2011, 2013, and 2015. The prevalence of MetS was analyzed according to sex, age, income, residence location, and health-related behaviors by conducting multiple logistic regression analysis. For health-related behaviors, smoking, drinking, and physical activity were examined, and changes in health-related behaviors over five years from 2011 to 2015 were included in the analysis. The prevalence of MetS in Korea in 2015 was 31.7%. The prevalence showed statistically significant differences according to sex, age, income, location, and health-related behaviors. The prevalence was higher in men than in women and increased with aging. Regarding income, MetS prevalence was slightly higher in the middle-income groups compared with the lowest or the highest. Regarding location, MetS prevalence was lower in metropolitan areas compared to small- to medium-sized cities and farming/fishery rural areas. Regarding health-related behavior, MetS prevalence increased in the smoking, heavy drinking, and passive activity groups compared with the nonsmoking, moderate drinking, and active activity groups. Regarding health-related behavior change, MetS prevalence was higher by 22% in the short-term nonsmoking group (subjects who smoked in the past but not currently) compared to the continuous nonsmoking group. The risk for MetS also increased by 84.9% in the continuous heavy drinking group compared to the continuous moderate drinking group. Finally, the risk for MetS increased by 30.3% in the continuous passive physical activity group compared to the continuous active physical activity group. This study’s findings indicate the importance of maintaining healthy lifestyle habits to prevent MetS. In particular, the focus for change should be concentrated on short-term nonsmoking, continuous heavy drinking, and continuous passive physical activities to improve health-related behaviors.