Metabolic syndrome: Association between prevalence and risk at worksites

Abstract

This study, conducted at major Japanese companies, aimed to determine if asymptomatic workers in workplaces with a high prevalence of metabolic syndrome have a greater risk of developing metabolic syndrome. Data were obtained from the health records of 298,145 people, from 2011 to 2015. We collected data on the participants’ age, sex, physical examinations, laboratory tests, and lifestyle behaviors. To test whether the risk of metabolic syndrome in asymptomatic workers differed between groups with a higher and lower prevalence in 2011, Cox proportional hazards regression model was performed, with the covariates being controlled for. The analysis showed that the risk of metabolic syndrome among asymptomatic workers in the high-prevalence group was about 1.1-fold elevated compared to those within the low-prevalence group. As a follow-up to these results, interventions aimed at asymptomatic workers should be provided in workplaces with a high prevalence of metabolic syndrome.

Keywords:

• Japanese workers
• metabolic syndrome
• work environment

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by a Health Labor Sciences Research Grant from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, Japan (H28 Research on Life-Style Related Diseases including Cardiovascular Diseases and Diabetes Mellitus 003), and JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP16K09160.