Objective: Considerable research has been conducted on the relationship between alcohol consumption and metabolic syndrome. Although various standards for the amount and frequency of alcohol consumption have been suggested, a tool to measure individual alcohol use behavior against a consistent standard is required. Moreover, the association of alcohol use behavior with health should be examined on the basis of such a standard. In this study, we examined the relationships between alcohol use behavior according to the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and metabolic syndrome and its components in Korean women.

Methods: This study utilized data from the fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which was administered from 2010 through 2012. We investigated the relationships between alcohol use behavior and metabolic syndrome and its components in a sample of 2,906 women by using analysis of covariance and logistic regression analysis.

Results: After adjusting for confounding variables, alcohol use behavior was significantly associated with metabolic syndrome [odds ratio (OR) 2.877; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.523-5.435 in the problem use group]. AUDIT score also was significantly related to abdominal obesity (OR 2.263; 95% CI 1.704-4.459 in the problem use group), hypertension (OR 3.377; 95% CI 1.871-6.095 in the problem use group), hypertriglyceridemia (OR 3.204; 95% CI 1.800-5.702 in the problem use group), and impaired fasting glucose (OR 3.034; 95% CI 1.721-5.348 in the problem use group).

Conclusion: In this study, positive associations were observed between AUDIT score and risk of metabolic syndrome and its components.

Keywords: AUDIT; Alcohol; Cross-sectional study; Metabolic syndrome; Women.