Interactive associations of smoking and physical activity with metabolic syndrome in adult men in Korea

Front Public Health. 2023 Nov 16:11:1281530. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1281530. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the association of smoking and physical activity (PA) with metabolic syndrome (MetS) in adult men in Korea.

Methods: This study analyzed data of 7,229 adult men aged 19-64 years obtained from the 2014-2021 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Information on smoking habits was obtained using KNHANES data, while that on total PA (TPA), leisure-time PA (LTPA), and occupational PA (OPA) was collected using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire. Smoking status was classified into non-smokers and smokers, and PA was categorized into three groups (total, leisure time, and occupational) according to the time spent engaging in moderate or high-intensity PA areas. The diagnosis of MetS was based on the Adult Treatment Program III of the National Cholesterol Education Program and Koreans' waist circumference criteria.

Results: Logistic regression revealed that the risk of MetS was significantly lower in non-smokers than in smokers, even after adjusting for all covariates. The risk of MetS was significantly lower in individuals who engaged in at least 150 min of moderate- and high-intensity TPA or LTPA per week than in those who did not engage in PA. Furthermore, smokers who engaged in at least 150 min of moderate- to high-intensity TPA and LTPA per week had a significantly lower risk of MetS than those who did not engage in PA. Meanwhile, OPA was not associated with MetS.

Conclusion: The findings suggest that engaging in moderate- to high-intensity TPA or LTPA for at least 150 min per week attenuates the risk of MetS caused by smoking.

Keywords: Korean men; interactive association; metabolic syndrome; physical activity; smoking status.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Exercise*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Metabolic Syndrome* / epidemiology
  • Nutrition Surveys
  • Republic of Korea / epidemiology
  • Smoking* / epidemiology

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This research was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), funded by the Ministry of Education (grant number: NRF-2022R1I1A1A01066469).