Metabolic syndrome, systemic inflammation and Framingham risk score are independent risk factors for reduced lung function in healthy Korean adults

Background: We aimed to investigate the association of lung function with systemic inflammation as assessed by high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), 10-year cardiovascular event risk by Framingham risk score (FRS), and metabolic syndrome (MetS) simultaneously in a large number of healthy Korean subjects. Method: We recruited 9761 (mean age 46 years) apparently healthy adults from medical check-up programme at Kangbuk Samsung Hospital. FRS was calculated and the presence of MetS was defined according to AHA/NHLBI criteria. We analyzed the patients according to the quartiles of FVC or FEV1 (% of pred) as well as ventilatory patterns. Restrictive pattern (RP) was defined as FVC 0.05). When subjects were divided into quartiles of FVC or FEV1 (% pred), prevalence of MetS, hs-CRP concentration, and FRS event risk >10% significantly increased as the FVC or FEV1 (% pred) decreased to the lowest quartile. The presence of abdominal obesity, MetS, FRS event risk >10%, hs-CRP were the independent predictors for RP or the lowest FVC (% pred) quartile, while FRS event risk >10% and hs-CRP were independent predictor for OP or the lowest FEV1 (% pred) quartile even after adjustment for confounders. Conclusion: These results indicate that MetS including abdominal obesity, systemic inflammation, and FRS are important risk factors for reduced lung function in Korean adults.