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Metabolic syndrome linked to less incident fractures in Korean men
Korean men with metabolic syndrome had a lower risk for incident fractures compared with those without components of metabolic syndrome, according to data.
“These results suggest that the beneficial role of [metabolic syndrome] on fractures could be the result of accompanying general obesity, although other factors related to [metabolic syndrome], such as greater padding effect, peripheral aromatization or adipokine changes, may also contribute,” researchers wrote.
Of 16,078 men (aged 50 years or older), 158 (1%) developed incident fractures. The patients had undergone a comprehensive routine health examination, with an average 3-year follow-up period for the study.
There was a 33.1 fracture rate (95% CI, 28.3-38.7) per 10,000 person-years, according to researchers. Multivariate adjusted Cox proportional hazard analyses indicated that the fracture event rates for patients with metabolic syndrome were 26.2 per 10,000 person-years and 35.7 per 10,000 person-years for those without metabolic syndrome.
During the study period, 81 (0.5%) and 77 (0.48%) developed vertebral and nonvertebral fractures, respectively, according to data.
The event rates for these fractures were 16.8 per 10,000 person-years for vertebral fractures and 16 per 10,000 person-years for nonvertebral fractures, according to data.
“Interestingly, when BMI was added as a confounding factor, the differences in the development of incident fractures based on [metabolic syndrome] status disappeared, implying that the protective effects of [metabolic syndrome] on bone metabolism could be, at least partially, driven by higher mechanical loading in the subjects with [metabolic syndrome],” researchers wrote.
There was a lower risk for incident fractures compared with patients without metabolic syndrome (HR=0.662; 95% CI, 0.445-0.986), according to data. Patients with three or more metabolic syndrome components had a 49.4% lower risk; patients with four or more metabolic syndrome components had a 50.4% lower risk for incident fractures compared with patients without any components of metabolic syndrome.
Further validation studies are warranted, according to researchers.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.