Changes in metabolic syndrome status and risk of laryngeal cancer: A nationwide cohort study

Abstract

Background Whether dynamic changes of metabolic syndrome (MetS) affects the subsequent laryngeal cancer occurrence remains unknown. Objective This study investigated the effects of changes of MetS on the incidence of laryngeal cancer due to a lack of knowledge regarding the development of MetS in Korean population. Methods A total of 6,757,048 individuals who received national health checkup in 2009 and follow-up health examination in 2011 were analyzed and followed up until 2018. MetS status included the following categories: MetS-chronic (n = 941,609), MetS-developed (n = 614,229), MetS-recovery (n = 455,835), and MetS-free (n = 4,745,375). Results With a median follow-up duration of 6.403 years, 1,350 subjects were newly diagnosed with laryngeal cancer. Compared to participants without MetS, adjusted hazard ratios (HR) (95% confidence interval) for those with MetS were 1.320 (1.17-1.489) for laryngeal cancer. The HR of laryngeal cancer was found to be increased with increasing number of MetS components. The MetS-developed group had a significantly higher risk of laryngeal cancer than the MetS-free group (HR: 1.296; 95% CI: 1.093-1.537). The MetS-recovery group within two years also had an increased risk of laryngeal cancer compared with the MetS-free group (HR: 1.220; 95% CI: 1.008-1.476). Among MetS components, abdominal obesity had the highest risk of laryngeal cancer (HR: 1.374; 95% CI: 1.123-1.681). Conclusion Changes in MetS status were associated with the risk of laryngeal cancer. Results of this study have implications for etiological investigations and prevention strategies.