Dietary fructose and risk of metabolic syndrome in Chinese residents aged 45 and above: results from the China National Nutrition and Health Survey

Shaojie Pang; Pengkun Song; Xueqian Sun; Wentao Qi; Chun Yang; Ge Song; Yong Wang; Jian Zhang

doi:10.1186/s12937-021-00739-9

Dietary fructose and risk of metabolic syndrome in Chinese residents aged 45 and above: results from the China National Nutrition and Health Survey

Nutr J. 2021 Oct 3;20(1):83. doi: 10.1186/s12937-021-00739-9.

Authors

Shaojie Pang¹, Pengkun Song², Xueqian Sun³, Wentao Qi⁴, Chun Yang⁵, Ge Song¹, Yong Wang¹, Jian Zhang⁶

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Grain Quality and Nutrition Research, Academy of National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, Beijing, 100037, People's Republic of China.
² National Institute for Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 100050, People's Republic of China.
³ Research and Development center of Shandong Xiwang Sugar Co. Ltd, National Corn Deep Processing Industry Technology Innovation Center, Binzhou, People's Republic of China.
⁴ Institute of Grain Quality and Nutrition Research, Academy of National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, Beijing, 100037, People's Republic of China. qwt@ags.ac.cn.
⁵ Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100069, People's Republic of China.
⁶ National Institute for Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 100050, People's Republic of China. zhjian6708@aliyun.com.

Abstract

Background: A growing number of researches supported that dietary fructose was associated with most of the key features of metabolic syndrome (MetS). However, there was no related epidemiological studies among Chinese population, despite the sharp increase in MetS cases. This study explores the relationship between dietary fructose and MetS among Chinese residents aged 45 and above.

Methods: A total of 25,528 participants (11,574 males and 13,954 females) were included in this nationwide representative cross-sectional study of China National Nutrition and Health Survey. Dietary fructose intake was assessed by 3-day 24-h dietary records. MetS was defined by the International Diabetes Federation and Chinese Diabetes Society criteria.

Results: The consumption of dietary fructose was 11.6 g/day for urban residents and 7.6 g/day for rural residents. Fruits and vegetables as well as their products were the main sources of fructose intake. There was no association between dietary fructose intake and the odds of having MetS in both urban (P = 0.315) and rural residents (P = 0.230) after adjustment for confounding factors. Moreover, for urban residents participating physical activities, the odds of having MetS in the fourth quartiles (OR: 0.67; 95%CI: 0.52-0.87) was lower than that in the first quartile. In the sensitivity analysis, a significant reduction in the odds of having MetS was also found in the fourth quartiles (OR, 95%CI: 0.68, 0.51-0.90; 0.67, 0.49-0.91; 0.74, 0.56-0.99) compared with the first quartile when excluding smokers, alcohol users, and underweight/obesity, respectively. And there was no association between dietary fructose intake and the odds of having MetS after multivariate adjustment stratified by gender, smoking and alcohol use.

Conclusions: Under the current dietary fructose intake status, there was no association between dietary fructose intake and the odds of having MetS among Chinese residents aged 45 and above. Physical activity and relatively low fructose intake may have a beneficial synergistic effect on MetS.

Keywords: Chinese residents; Dietary fructose; Metabolic syndrome; Physical activity.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

China / epidemiology
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Fructose
Health Surveys
Humans
Male
Metabolic Syndrome* / epidemiology
Risk Factors

Substances

Fructose