Prevalence and Gender-Related Characteristics of Metabolic Syndrome in Korean Community

p for trend=0.123). In young age group (<50 years), the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was higher in men than in women (34.7% vs. 11.7%, p=0.042). This gender difference was not observed in older group (≥50 years). The most prevalent factor of metabolic syndrome was hypertriglyceridemia (49.9%) and hypertension (47.6%) in both genders. Among metabolic syndrome components, central obesity (40.5% vs. 25.2%, p=0.002) and hypertriglyceridemia (54.5% vs. 41.8%, p=0.015) were more prevalent in women than in men, and the prevalence of other components were similar between genders. Conclusions: In the community, metabolic syndrome was highly prevalent in middle-aged and elderly Korean adult. Age related change in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was gender specific. Age and gender effects should be considered for the effective control of metabolic syndrome in the community.