The Relationship Between Plasma Antioxidant Levels and Metabolic Syndrome Risk Factors in Male Workers

The principal objective of this study was to evaluate the association between plasma antioxidant levels and metabolic syndrome in male workers, and to provide basic information regarding the control and prevention of metabolic syndrome. We analyzed 163 male workers who had participated in annual medical examinations from January to December 2007. The subjects were classified into normal and metabolic syndrome groups according to the NCEP-ATP III criteria and the Asia-Pacific criteria for waist circumference. Anthropometric parameters, lifestyles, blood lipid profiles, and antioxidant levels were evaluated. As compared to the normal group, the metabolic syndrome group evidenced significantly higher plasma levels of α- tocopherol(p<0.05) and retinol(p<0.05), but significantly lower plasma levels of lycopene(p<0.05) and β-carotene(p<0.05). This tendency was found to be predominantly attributable to increases in the number of metabolic syndrome components. In our simple regression analysis, higher plasma levels of α-tocopherol(β=0.001, p<0.01) and retinol(β=0.021, p<0.001) were associated with significantly higher risks of metabolic syndrome, but lycopene(β=-1.499, p<0.01) and β-carotene(β= -0.048, p<0.01) were associated with significantly lower risks of metabolic syndrome. Retinol(β=0.013, p<0.05) and β- carotene(β=-0.044, p<0.01) were associated significantly with metabolic syndrome, when adjusted for age and BMI. These data indicate that the plasma levels of α-tocopherol, retinol, lycopene, and β-carotene are associated with metabolic syndrome. Specifically, low lycopene and β-carotene levels in the plasma appear to increase the risk of metabolic syndrome. Therefore, proper nutritional education programs for male workers are required to increase dietary intakes of antioxidant vitamins. Further studies will be necessary to determine whether antioxidant levels can be utilized as a predictive or a preventive factor.