Association between alcohol intake amount and prevalence of metabolic syndrome in Korean rural male population

Moderate alcohol consumption is known to be associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality. However, few studies reported that long-term alcohol drinking may increase the prevalence of central obesity, and cardiovascular disease. We examined the association between metabolic syndrome, nutritional factors and alcohol intake amount in Korean male rural population.We performed a cross-sectional analysis on data from Korean Rural Genomic Cohort (KRGC) study. We used multiple logistic regression analysis to estimate the adjusted odds ratio of metabolic syndrome according to alcohol intake amount categories (never, 0–16 g/day, 16–40 g/day, and >40 g/day).The age adjusted odds ratio for the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was significantly increased in the quartile with the highest alcohol consumption compared to the non-alcohol drinking group (1.33; C.I., 1.11–1.59). These results were similar in the high energy intake group, but not in the low energy intake group. Waist circumference, blood pressure, and serum triglyceride levels were significantly higher in the quartile with the highest alcohol consumption compared to the non-alcohol drinking group.These results suggest that large alcohol consumption is associated with metabolic syndrome and may be a modifiable risk factor of metabolic syndrome especially in subjects with high calorie intake.