Metabolic syndrome (MetS) poses increased risks for non-communicable diseases, increasing all-cause mortality, disability, and healthcare costs. Beta-carotene as the major carotenoid is identified to play an important role in the pathophysiology of MetS. The present study aimed to investigate the association between serum beta-carotene levels with metabolic syndrome and metabolic risk factors among a cohort of teachers in Peninsular Malaysia. This cross-sectional study investigated a sub-sample of 645 serum samples which were randomly selected for beta-carotene determination. Socio-demographic, lifestyle and metabolic risk factors were measured following standard protocols. There were equal proportions of males and females, with majority Malays (69%) followed by the Chinese (24%) and Indians (6.5%). The prevalence of MetS was 24.8% with abnormal waist circumference and high blood pressure as the most commonly reported metabolic risk factors. The median serum beta-carotene was 5.15 (5.07) μmol/L. Serum beta-carotene in the lowest quartile (Q1) was found to be significantly associated with MetS (OR: 5.81; 95% CI: 2.96, 11.38) and metabolic risk factors, namely triglycerides (OR: 6.38; 95% CI: 3.04, 13.35), fasting blood sugar (OR: 3.32; 95% CI: 1.48, 7.43), HDL-cholesterol (OR: 2.88; 95% CI: 1.58, 5.26) and waist circumference (OR: 2.94; 95% CI: 1.73, 5.01), after adjusted for potential confounders. In summary, participants with lower serum beta-carotene had higher odds for MetS and the above-mentioned metabolic risk factors.
Keywords: Malaysia; beta-carotene; metabolic risk factors; metabolic syndrome; work cohort.