Dairy Consumption and Risk of Metabolic Syndrome in Korean Adults and Elderly People.

To investigate the association of dairy consumption with metabolic syndrome (MetS) in a representative sample of Korean adult and elderly population. We used data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2013-2018. A total of 18,206 adults (19-64 years) and 5113 elderly people (≥65 years) were included in the analysis. Dairy product consumption was assessed with a 24-hr dietary recall, and the subjects were divided into three groups based on their total dairy consumption (0, <1, ≥1 serving/day). The primary outcome, MetS, was defined according to the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III and the Korean Society for the Study of Obesity. After adjusting for covariates, high dairy consumption was associated with 12% lower odds of MetS in adults compared with no dairy consumption [odds ratio (OR) 0.88, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.78-0.998, for trend = 0.048]. A similar inverse association was found in adult men (OR 0.84, 95% CI 0.71-0.99), but no significant association was found in adult women (OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.78-1.11). For the elderly, high dairy consumption was associated with 20% lower odds of MetS (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.65-0.98, for trend = 0.020); a significant inverse association was shown in elderly women (OR 0.72, 95% CI 0.56-0.94) but not in elderly men (OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.68-1.28). Our findings suggest that one or more servings/day of dairy products were associated with lower prevalence of MetS in Korean adult men and elderly women.