Metabolic syndrome and sex-specific socio-economic disparities in childhood and adulthood: the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys

Aims To examine whether adulthood and/or childhood sex-specific socio-economic disparities are associated with metabolic syndrome and its components in a developed non-Western setting. Methods Based on the Fourth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, 14 888 people aged ≥ 20 years were analysed to evaluate the effect of adult and childhood socio-economic status on metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to calculate the odds ratios for metabolic syndrome and each component of metabolic syndrome in later life. Results The age-standardized prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 26.6% for men and 21.3% for women. Compared with the highest level of education, men with the lowest education level were significantly less likely to have metabolic syndrome (odds ratio 0.76, 95% CI 0.60–0.96), whereas the opposite association was found in women (odds ratio 3.29, 95% CI 2.45–4.42). Men who were manual labourers and economically inactive had a lower prevalence of metabolic syndrome compared with those with non-manual jobs (odds ratio 0.82, 95% CI 0.69–0.98 and odds ratio 0.79, 95% CI 0.64–0.99, respectively), but the reverse association was observed in women (odds ratio 1.34, 95% CI 1.04–1.73 and odds ratio 1.40, 95% CI 1.09–1.81, respectively). A significant interaction between combined adulthood and childhood socio-economic status on the presence of metabolic syndrome was observed (P