COVID-19 and related social distancing measures induce significant metabolic complications without prominent weight gain in Korean adults

Hae-Jin Ko; Yoon Jeong Cho; Kyoung-Kon Kim; Jee-Hyun Kang; Young-Sang Kim; Ji-Hee Haam; Yang-Im Hur; Hye-In Choi; Kyu Rae Lee; Jung Ha Park; Soo Hyun Cho; Jong-Koo Kim; Taesic Lee; Myung-Jae Seo; Yeong Sook Yoon; Yoobin Seo; Ga Eun Nam; Sun Hyun Kim

doi:10.3389/fmed.2022.951793

COVID-19 and related social distancing measures induce significant metabolic complications without prominent weight gain in Korean adults

Front Med (Lausanne). 2022 Sep 7:9:951793. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2022.951793. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Hae-Jin Ko¹, Yoon Jeong Cho², Kyoung-Kon Kim³, Jee-Hyun Kang⁴, Young-Sang Kim⁵, Ji-Hee Haam^{5

6}, Yang-Im Hur⁵, Hye-In Choi¹, Kyu Rae Lee³, Jung Ha Park⁷, Soo Hyun Cho⁸, Jong-Koo Kim⁹, Taesic Lee⁹, Myung-Jae Seo⁹, Yeong Sook Yoon¹⁰, Yoobin Seo¹¹, Ga Eun Nam¹², Sun Hyun Kim¹³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Family Medicine, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University Hospital, Daegu, South Korea.
² Department Family Medicine, Daegu Catholic University School of Medicine, Daegu, South Korea.
³ Department of Family Medicine, Gachon University College of Medicine, Gachon University Gil Medical Center, Incheon, South Korea.
⁴ Department of Family Medicine, Konyang University College of Medicine, Daejeon, South Korea.
⁵ Department of Family Medicine, CHA Bundang Medical Center, CHA University, Seongnam, South Korea.
⁶ Chaum Life Center, CHA University, Seoul, South Korea.
⁷ Department of Family Medicine, Jeju National University Hospital, Jeju, South Korea.
⁸ Department of Family Medicine, College of Medicine, Chung-Ang University Hospital, Seoul, South Korea.
⁹ Department of Family Medicine, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju-si, South Korea.
¹⁰ Department of Family Medicine, Inje University Ilsan Paik Hospital, Goyang-si, South Korea.
¹¹ Department of Family Medicine, Sanbon Medical Center, School of Medicine, Wonkwang University, Gunpo-si, South Korea.
¹² Department of Family Medicine, Korea University Guro Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
¹³ Department of Family Medicine, International St. Mary's Hospital, Catholic Kwandong University College of Medicine, Incheon, South Korea.

Abstract

Background: This study using multi-center health examination data from Korean adults was conducted to confirm changes in weight, and their related cardiometabolic parameters, before and after strengthening of social distancing regulations.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using health check-up data from 13 university hospitals. The study period was from January 2018 to July 2020. To examine the effect of systematic social distancing measures, participants who underwent a health check-up (Visit 3) between July 2020 and July 2021 (during full scale social distancing), and had undergone two previous health check-ups (Visits 1 and 2) between January 2018 and June 2020 (before social distancing), were selected. In total, data from 7,875 participants were analyzed. Linear mixed-effect models were used to calculate estimates of anthropometric indices and metabolic markers measured on Visits 2 and 3, compared with measurements from Visit 1.

Results: There were no significant differences in body weight, body mass index, waist circumference, and body composition on Visit 3 than on Visits 1 and 2. However, the odds of metabolic syndrome and its components, including hypertension, high glucose, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, hyper-non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterolemia, and dyslipidemia were significantly higher on Visit 3 than on Visits 1 and 2. The increase in metabolic complications was marked, particularly in relatively young adults who visited health check-up centers located in the capital area.

Conclusion: Metabolic syndrome and its components were significantly worse after high level social distancing, although there were no significant increases in anthropometric indices and body fat levels. Healthcare providers need to prevent and manage worsening of metabolic parameters in subpopulations prone to be more sedentary and eat unhealthy food during the COVID-19 pandemic and associated social distancing measures.

Keywords: COVID-19; body weight changes; metabolic syndrome; obesity; physical distancing; weight gain.