The Gender Gap in the Relationship between Metabolic Syndrome and Restrictive Ventilatory Defects

Background: Given the fundamental physiological differences between the sexes, this study aimed to investigate the effect of metabolic syndrome on ventilatory defects stratified by sex. Methods: We conducted a nationwide, pooled, cross-sectional study. Data from 45,788 participants (men, n = 15,859; women, n = 29,929) aged 30 years or more were obtained from the Taiwan Biobank. Age-sex-adjusted and multivariate logistic regression models were used to estimate the risk of developing impaired pulmonary function (restrictive or obstructive ventilatory defects) in individuals with or without metabolic syndromes. Separate models were also used to estimate the effect of metabolic syndrome scores and the effect of individual metabolic abnormalities on the risk of restrictive ventilatory defects. Results: The overall prevalence of metabolic syndrome was estimated to be 15.9% in Taiwan, much higher in men than in women (18.6% versus 14.4%). A significant association was observed between metabolic syndromes and the risk of restrictive ventilatory defects. The risk of developing a restrictive ventilator defect was 35% higher in participants with metabolic syndromes (odds ratio, 1.35; 95% confidence interval, 1.26-1.45) than in those without metabolic syndromes. Elevated blood pressure and a triglycerides abnormality were important predictors of restrictive ventilator defects. Sex-stratified subgroup analyses of the individual metabolic abnormalities indicated that men with abdominal obesity and women with dysglycemia were more likely to develop restrictive ventilatory defects. Conclusions: Our study's evidence suggested that metabolic syndromes were important predictors of impaired pulmonary function and an increased risk of developing restrictive ventilatory defects, and its risk increased with increasing numbers of metabolic abnormalities.