Changes in metabolic syndrome status and risk of laryngeal cancer: A nationwide cohort study

BACKGROUND: Whether dynamic changes of metabolic syndrome (MetS) affects the subsequent laryngeal cancer occurrence remains unknown. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the effects of changes of MetS on the incidence of laryngeal cancer due to a lack of knowledge regarding the development of MetS in Korean population. METHODS: A total of 6,757,048 individuals who received national health checkup in 2009 and follow-up health examination in 2011 were analyzed and followed up until 2018. MetS status included the following categories: MetS-chronic (n = 941,609), MetS-developed (n = 614,229), MetS-recovery (n = 455,835), and MetS-free (n = 4,745,375). RESULTS: With a median follow-up duration of 6.403 years, 1,350 subjects were newly diagnosed with laryngeal cancer. Compared to participants without MetS, adjusted hazard ratios (HR) (95% confidence interval) for those with MetS were 1.320 (1.17–1.489) for laryngeal cancer. The HR of laryngeal cancer was found to be increased with increasing number of MetS components. The MetS-developed group had a significantly higher risk of laryngeal cancer than the MetS-free group (HR: 1.296; 95% CI: 1.093–1.537). The MetS-recovery group within two years also had an increased risk of laryngeal cancer compared with the MetS-free group (HR: 1.220; 95% CI: 1.008–1.476). Among MetS components, abdominal obesity had the highest risk of laryngeal cancer (HR: 1.374; 95% CI: 1.123–1.681). CONCLUSION: Changes in MetS status were associated with the risk of laryngeal cancer. Results of this study have implications for etiological investigations and prevention strategies.