Background/Aims: The aim of this study was to assess the association between percentage of energy intake from added sugar (EAS%) and incidence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in a cohort of older Australians with 10 years of follow-up.
Methods: Data from participants of the Blue Mountains Eye Study (aged ≥49y at baseline, 1992-1994) were used. Dietary data were collected using a 145-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Added sugar content of the FFQ items was estimated using a stepwise systematic method. Participants without MetS symptoms at baseline who had MetS data at 5-year and 10-year follow-ups were included in the study (n=1319). Logistic regression was used to assess the association between baseline EAS% intake and incidence of any MetS in 10 years. The analysis was adjusted for a range of confounding variables, including age, gender, smoking, physical activity, energy intake and other dietary variables, and pre-existing diseases.
Results: Incidence of any MetS was 11.7% throughout the 10-year follow-up. Median (IQR) intake of EAS% quartiles were 3.8% (0.1-5.8), 7.3% (5.8-8.6), 10.2% (8.6-12.3) and 14.9% (12.3-31.4), respectively. In preliminary analyses, participants in the highest quartile of EAS% at baseline were not more likely to develop MetS than participants in the lowest quartile of EAS% (OR: 0.82, 95%CI: 0.47-1.43, p=0.48).
Conclusions: Baseline EAS% was not associated with the 10- year incidence of MetS in this cohort of older Australians.
Funding source(s): BMES was supported by NHMRC.