Effect of metabolic health and obesity on all-cause death and CVD incidence in Korean adults: a retrospective cohort study

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the risk of all-cause mortality and incidence of CVD according to metabolic health and body mass index (BMI) in Korean adults. This study was retrospectively designed using the National Health Insurance Service-National Health Screening Cohort data. Participants were divided into six groups according to two category of metabolic syndrome and three categories of BMI. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the composite outcome (all-cause mortality and incidence of CVDs) were estimated using multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models. 151,706 participants aged >= 40 years were enrolled; median follow-up period was 9.7 years in the study. Compared to metabolically healthy normal weight, the fully adjusted HRs (95% CIs) of metabolically healthy overweight, metabolically healthy obese, metabolically unhealthy normal weight, metabolically unhealthy overweight, and metabolically unhealthy obese for composite outcome were 1.07 (1.03-1.12), 1.12 (1.07-1.17), 1.33 (1.25-1.41), 1.28 (1.22-1.34), and 1.31 (1.26-1.37), respectively, in men, and 1.10 (1.05-1.16), 1.22 (1.16-1.29), 1.34 (1.26-1.43), 1.27 (1.19-1.34), and, 1.40 (1.34-1.47), respectively, in women. High BMI and metabolic unhealthiness were associated with an increased risk on the composite of all-cause mortality and incidence of CVD in both sexes.