Document Type
Article
Original Publication Date
2012
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise:
Volume
44
Issue
11
First Page
2125
Last Page
2131
DOI of Original Publication
10.1249/MSS.0b013e3182640c4e
Date of Submission
June 2015
Abstract
Purpose
To prospectively examine the independent and joint effects of alcohol consumption and cardiorespiratory fitness on the incidence of metabolic syndrome in a cohort of men.
Methods
A prospective examination of 3,411 apparently healthy men at baseline, who came to the Cooper Clinic (Dallas, Texas) for at least 2 preventive visits (1979–2010). Primary exposure variables were cardiorespiratory fitness and alcohol intake; the outcome measure was metabolic syndrome (MetS) and the components thereof. Cox proportional hazard models were computed to assess the relationship between the exposure variables and the incidence of MetS while adjusting for confounders.
Results
Over a mean follow-up period of 9 years (SD=7.8), 276 men developed MetS. In multivariable analysis, a dose-response relationship was observed between increased levels of fitness and reduced MetS risk (moderate fitness: HR=0.60, 95%CI 0.43–0.82; high fitness: HR=0.49, 95%CI 0.35–0.69). When examining the independent effects of alcohol, light drinking increased the risk for MetS by 66% (HR=1.66, 95%CI 1.11–2.48). No statistically significant interaction effect was observed between alcohol and fitness in relation to MetS (P = 0.32). When assessing the relation between each exposure and the components of MetS, higher fitness consistently reduced the risk of all components; whereas lower alcohol intake reduced the risk of elevated glucose and blood pressure and increased the risk for low HDL-c.
Conclusions
Among this cohort of men, higher fitness levels reduced the risk for MetS and its components. The relation between alcohol intake levels and metabolic risk was more complex and not reflected when examining MetS as a whole.
Rights
This is a non-final version of an article published in final form in Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2012 Nov;44(11):2125-31 available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0b013e3182640c4e. This is the author's manuscript which was accepted for publication.
Is Part Of
VCU Social Work Publications
Comments
Published in final edited form as: Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2012 Nov; 44(11): 2125–2131 doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e3182640c4e PMCID: PMC3475754 NIHMSID: NIHMS393868 Karen G. Chartier was at the University of Texas School of Public Health at the time of initial publication.