Dietary patterns and the risk of metabolic syndrome in Chinese adults: a population-based cross-sectional study

Objective: Data on dietary patterns in relation to the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in a middle-aged Chinese population are sparse. The present study was performed to determine the major dietary patterns among a population aged 45-59 years and to evaluate their associations with MetS risk in China. Design: Cross-sectional examination of the association between dietary patterns and MetS. Face-to-face interviews were used to assess dietary intake using a validated semi-quantitative FFQ. OR and 95% CI for MetS were calculated across quartiles of dietary pattern scores using multivariate logistic regression analysis models. Setting: City of Linyi, Shandong Province, China. Subjects: Adults (n 1918) aged 45-59 years. Results: Three major dietary patterns were identified: traditional Chinese, animal food and high-energy. After adjustment for potential confounders, individuals in the highest quartile of the traditional Chinese pattern had a reduced risk of MetS relative to the lowest quartile (OR = 0.72, 95% CI 0.596, 0.952; P < 005). Compared with those in the lowest quartile, individuals in the highest quartile of the animal food pattern had a greater risk of MetS (OR = 1.28; 95 % CI 1.103, 1.697; P < 0.05). No significant association was observed between the high-energy pattern and risk of MetS. conclusions: These findings indicate that the traditional Chinese pattern was associated with a reduced risk, while the animal food pattern was associated with increased risk of MetS. Given the cross-sectional nature of our study, further prospective studies are warranted to confirm these findings.