Low muscle mass is associated with metabolic syndrome in Korean adolescents: the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2009-2011

Little is known about the relationship between low muscle mass (LMM) and metabolic risk factors in adolescents. We hypothesized that LMM in adolescents is associated with metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components in Korean adolescents. This cross-sectional study included 1420 participants (749 males and 671 females), aged 12 to 19 years, who participated in the 2009-2011 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. Appendicular skeletal muscle mass was divided by body weight, and any value below the lower quintile of the study population, according to each age and sex category, was considered to represent LMM. A participant was considered to have MetS if he/she demonstrated at least 3 of the National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. The overall prevalence of MetS was 4.9%, with a prevalence of 7.1% in males and 2.3% in females. Low muscle mass significantly increased the risk of MetS, after adjusting for potential covariates (odds ratio [OR], 5.28; 95% confidence interval, 2.76-10.13). Similarly, the ORs for the MetS components were significantly higher in individuals with LMM than in those without LMM. In the subgroup analysis, LMM was significantly associated with MetS in both adolescent boys and girls. In addition, the adjusted OR was significantly higher in individuals with LMM than in those without, after stratifying the groups by age. In conclusion, our results suggest that adolescents with LMM may have a high risk of MetS. Public health initiatives are needed to develop interventions for preventing and treating LMM in adolescents.