Table 1. Baseline characteristics of Korean adults according to development of metabolic syndrome.
| MetS (n = 2,336) |
Non-MetS (n = 3,293) |
P value | |
| Men (n = 2,884) | |||
| n (%) | 1,122 (38.9) | 1,762 (61.1) | |
| Age, years | 51.1 (8.3) | 51.1 (8.9) | 0.918 |
| Area of residence, n (%) | <0.0001 | ||
| Rural, Ansung | 549 (48.9) | 718 (40.7) | |
| Urban, Ansan | 573 (51.1) | 1,044 (59.3) | |
| Household income, n (%) | 0.811 | ||
| <$890/month | 301 (26.8) | 463 (26.3) | |
| $890 to <$1,780 | 346 (30.8) | 532 (30.2) | |
| $1,780 to <$2,670 | 220 (19.6) | 372 (21.1) | |
| ≥$2,670 | 255 (22.8) | 395 (22.4) | |
| Education level, n (%) | 0.400 | ||
| ≤6 years | 207 (18.5) | 348 (19.8) | |
| 7 to ≤12 years | 671 (59.8) | 1,009 (57.2) | |
| >12 years | 244 (21.7) | 405 (23.0) | |
| Smoking status, n (%) | 0.006 | ||
| Never smokers | 199 (17.7) | 384 (21.8) | |
| Former smokers | 324 (28.9) | 534 (30.3) | |
| Current smokers | 599 (53.4) | 844 (47.9) | |
| Physical activity | |||
| MET, hours/day | 24.8 (15.8) | 24.4 (15.4) | 0.502 |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 24.6 (2.5) | 22.9 (2.6) | <0.0001 |
| Alcohol intake, % | <0.0001 | ||
| Never | 211 (18.8) | 297 (16.9) | |
| Light | 369 (32.9) | 781 (44.3) | |
| Moderate | 334 (29.8) | 449 (25.5) | |
| Heavy | 208 (18.5) | 235 (13.3) | |
| Total energy intake, kcal/day | 2,065 (753) | 2,000 (616) | 0.015 |
| Percent from energy, % | |||
| Carbohydrates | 70.4 (7.3) | 70.6 (6.9) | 0.344 |
| Protein | 13.9 (2.4) | 13.7 (5.1) | 0.163 |
| Fat | 15.8 (5.4) | 15.7 (5.1) | 0.508 |
| Food intake, servings/day | |||
| Fruits | 2.5 (2.3) | 2.6 (2.1) | 0.107 |
| Meat | 0.7 (0.7) | 0.6 (0.5) | 0.003 |
| Refined grains | 2.3 (1.6) | 2.2 (1.5) | 0.031 |
| Whole grains | 1.6 (1.5) | 1.7 (1.4) | 0.117 |
| Dairy | 0.5 (0.6) | 0.6 (0.6) | 0.074 |
| Women (n = 2,745) | |||
| n (%) | 1,214 (44.2) | 1,531 (55.8) | |
| Age, years | 53.1 (8.7) | 48.3 (7.9) | <0.0001 |
| Area of residence, n (%) | <0.0001 | ||
| Rural, Ansung | 724 (59.6) | 495 (32.3) | |
| Urban, Ansan | 490 (40.4) | 1,036 (67.7) | |
| Household income, n (%) | <0.0001 | ||
| <$890/month | 529 (43.6) | 389 (25.4) | |
| $890 to <$1,780 | 370 (30.5) | 469 (30.6) | |
| $1,780 to <$2,670 | 174 (14.3) | 357 (23.3) | |
| ≥$2,670 | 141 (11.6) | 316 (20.7) | |
| Education level, n (%) | <0.0001 | ||
| ≤6 years | 568 (46.8) | 401 (26.2) | |
| 7 to ≤12 years | 584 (48.1) | 977 (63.8) | |
| >12 years | 62 (5.1) | 153 (10.0) | |
| Smoking status, n (%) | 0.621 | ||
| Never smokers | 1,162 (95.7) | 1,464 (95.6) | |
| Former smokers | 14 (1.2) | 13 (0.9) | |
| Current smokers | 38 (3.1) | 54 (3.5) | |
| Physical activity | |||
| MET, hours/day | 23.7 (15.1) | 20.7 (13.1) | <0.0001 |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 25.0 (3.0) | 23.3 (2.8) | <0.0001 |
| Alcohol intake, % | <0.0001 | ||
| Never | 753 (62.0) | 806 (52.7) | |
| Light | 414 (34.1) | 662 (43.2) | |
| Moderate | 36 (3.0) | 42 (2.7) | |
| Heavy | 11 (0.9) | 21 (1.4) | |
| Total energy intake, kcal/day | 1,912 (785) | 1,901 (696) | 0.692 |
| Percent from energy, % | |||
| Carbohydrates | 73.1 (7.2) | 71.3 (7.1) | <0.0001 |
| Protein | 13.4 (2.3) | 13.8 (2.3) | <0.0001 |
| Fat | 13.5 (5.4) | 14.9 (5.3) | <0.0001 |
| Food intake, servings/day | |||
| Fruits | 3.2 (2.9) | 3.5 (2.6) | 0.019 |
| Meat | 0.4 (0.5) | 0.5 (0.6) | 0.016 |
| Refined grains | 1.6 (1.5) | 1.4 (1.2) | <0.0001 |
| Whole grains | 1.8 (1.4) | 1.9 (1.2) | 0.013 |
| Dairy | 0.7 (0.7) | 0.7 (0.7) | 0.001 |
BMI, body mass index; MET, metabolic equivalent of task; MetS, metabolic syndrome.
Values are n (%) or means (standard deviation).
P values were assessed with Student’s t-test (continuous variables) or chi-square test (categorized variables).