Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Obesity is increasingly prevalent in Western society. In addition to medical consequences, obesity also affects health-related quality of life (HR-QOL).

Design: We assessed the differences in HR-QOL in obese participants with and without metabolic syndrome (MetS), by level of obesity and level of inflammation, in the LifeLines Cohort study, a population-based study. In total, 12 765 subjects age 18–80 years, with BMI >30 kg/m², participated. Individuals with missing data on HR-QOL, known to have type 1 or type 2 diabetes or who had a fasting blood glucose >7.0 mmol/l were excluded. HR-QOL was assessed using the Short Form-36, and sex-corrected physical (PCS) and mental component score (MCS) were calculated. MetS was defined as having ≧3 of 5 of the revised NCEP ATP III criteria.

Results: Mean age was 46±11 years, median BMI 32.4 kg/m² (IQR 31.0–34.8), and 44% (60% of males, 35% of females) fulfilled the criteria of MetS. Increasing BMI was associated with a worse score of both PCS and MCS (table). Obese subjects with MetS had lower PCS (49.6±8.9 vs 51.0±8.3) and MCS (50.8±9.3 vs 51.4±8.8, both P<0.001) than those without MetS. Subjects with elevated hsCRP plasma levels had lower PCS than those with normal hsCRP.

Conclusion: In obese subjects, MetS is associated with lower HR-QOL. The degree of obesity and low-grade inflammation both are associated with physical functioning rather than with mental health.