Association between metabolic syndrome and chronic kidney disease in the Korean population

Aim: We performed a retrospective study to examine the association between the metabolic syndrome ( MS) and risk for the development of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Methods: This cohort study included 60 921 healthy adults recruited from two health promotion centres. Anthropometric measures, blood pressure, fasting glucose, lipid profile and serum creatinine were evaluated. The glomerular filtration rate was estimated (eGFR) using the abbreviated equation developed by the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) formula. CKD was defined as an eGFR of <60 mL/min per 1.73 m(2) or the presence of proteinuria. Results: The prevalence of MS and CKD was 19.0% and 7.2% respectively. Those with MS had a higher prevalence of CKD (11.0% vs 6.3%, P < 0.001) than those without MS. As the number of MS components increased, the prevalence of CKD increased and the eGFR decreased. The multiple linear analyses showed that each of the components of the MS was negatively correlated with the eGFR. Unadjusted and multivariate adjusted associations were identified between MS and CKD. Individuals with MS had a multivariate adjusted odds ratio of 1.680 (95% confidence interval, 0.566-1.801) for CKD compared with those without MS. Conclusion: Our findings, which were obtained from a large Korean cohort, suggest that MS was associated with CKD.