Risk of Parkinson disease according to metabolic syndrome among Korean adults: an analysis of data from the National Health Insurance-National Sample Cohort.

OBJECTIVES

This study investigated the association of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components with the risk of developing Parkinson disease (PD) among Korean adults using the National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort (NHIS-NSC).

METHODS

We analyzed 363,602 adults aged ≥40 years without a prior diagnosis of PD who underwent national health examinations between 2010 and 2014, using data from the NHIS-NSC version 2.2 database. Participants were categorized into MetS and non-MetS groups and were followed from the baseline examination until PD diagnosis, death, or December 31, 2019. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), with sequential adjustment for covariates.

RESULTS

During a mean follow-up of 8.2 years, 2,834 incident PD cases were identified. In the fully adjusted Cox model, MetS was associated with a significantly higher risk of developing PD (HR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.13 to 1.31). Among the individual MetS components, abdominal obesity (HR, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.10 to 1.29) and elevated fasting blood glucose (HR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.11 to 1.29) were significantly associated with an increased risk of PD. PD incidence also increased as the number of MetS components increased (log-rank p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that MetS and its components, particularly abdominal obesity and hyperglycemia, are associated with an increased risk of PD. Effective management of MetS may therefore help reduce the future burden of PD.