Age-specific association between meal-skipping patterns and the risk of hyperglycemia in Korean adults: a national cross-sectional study using the KNHANES data

• Published in: BMC public health Vol. 24; no. 1; pp. 1697 - 12
• Main Authors: Kang, Yeonji, Kang, Minji, Lim, Hyunjung
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 25.06.2024; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adult; Adults; Age; Age Factors; Aged; Care and treatment; Circadian clocks; Circadian rhythm; Complications and side effects; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diabetes; Diabetes Mellitus, type 2; Fasting; Feeding Behavior; Female; Food habits; Glucose metabolism; Health aspects; Humans; Hyperglycemia; Hyperglycemia - epidemiology; Intermittent fasting; Male; Meals; Middle Aged; Nutrition; Nutrition Surveys; Older people; Prediabetic state; Regression analysis; Regression models; Republic of Korea - epidemiology; Risk Factors; Risk management; Risk reduction; Womens health; Young Adult; Republic of Korea; South Korea; Diabetes Mellitus, type 2; Hyperglycemia; Circadian clocks; Intermittent fasting; Meals; Prediabetic state; Republic of Korea
• ISSN: 1471-2458; 1471-2458
• DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-18762-w

Glucose metabolism regulation is influenced by age and meal skipping, although research on their interplay with hyperglycemia remains limited. This study aims to explore the intricate relationship between meal-skipping patterns and hyperglycemia risk across distinct age groups in South Korean adults. Utilizing data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (KNHANES) conducted from 2013 to 2020, comprising 28,530 individuals aged 19 years and older, this study employed multivariable logistic regression models to examine the associations between meal-skipping patterns and the risk of hyperglycemia. Meal-skipping patterns were categorized into three groups: no skipping (NS), skipping breakfast (SB), and skipping dinner (SD). Age groups were defined as "young" (aged 19-44), "middle-aged" (aged 45-64), and "elderly" adults (over 65 years old). Among "young" adults, SB was associated with a 1.33-fold higher risk of hyperglycemia (OR = 1.33, 95% CI = 1.14-1.54) compared to NS. Conversely, in "elderly" adults, SD was linked to a 0.49-fold reduced risk (95% CI = 0.29-0.82) when compared to NS. Additionally, we observed that the Korean Health Eating Index (KHEI) scores, representing the quality of diet on a scale of 0 to 100, were consistently lower in SB compared to NS across all age groups. Intriguingly, specifically among the "elderly" group, this score was higher in SD compared to NS (p < 0.001). This study demonstrates age-specific variations in the association between meal-skipping patterns and the risk of hyperglycemia.