title: Stressful life events and incident metabolic syndrome: the Hoorn study.
abstract: Stressful life events are associated with the metabolic syndrome in cross-sectional studies, but prospective studies addressing this issue are rare and limited. We therefore evaluated whether the number of stressful life events is associated with incident metabolic syndrome. We assessed the association between the number of stressful life events experienced in the 5 years up until baseline and incident metabolic syndrome after 6.5 years at follow-up in the Hoorn study, a middle-aged and elderly population-based cohort. Participants with prevalent metabolic syndrome at baseline were excluded. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to the Adult Treatment Panel III, including fasting plasma glucose levels, HDL-C levels, triglyceride levels, waist circumference and hypertension. We included 1099 participants (47% male; age 60 ± 7 years). During 6.5 years of follow-up, 238 participants (22%) developed the metabolic syndrome. Logistic regression adjusted for age, sex, education level and follow-up duration showed a positive association between the number of stressful life events at baseline and incident metabolic syndrome [OR 1.13 (1.01-1.27) per event, p = 0.049]. In addition, a Poisson model showed a significant positive association between the number of stressful life events at baseline and the number of metabolic syndrome factors at follow-up [OR 1.05 (1.01-1.11) per event, p = 0.018]. Finally, we observed a significant association between the number of stressful life events at baseline and waist circumference at follow-up [adjusted for confounders β 0.86 (0.39-1.34) cm per event, p < 0.001]. Overall, we concluded that persons who reported more stressful life events at baseline had a significantly increased risk for developing metabolic syndrome during 6.5 years of follow-up, in a middle-aged and elderly population-based cohort.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics .|b EMGO + Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Centre , Amsterdam , the Netherlands .
authors.forename: Femke
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rutters
authors.affiliation: c Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism , Medical University of Graz , Graz , Austria .
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pilz
authors.affiliation: a Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics .|b EMGO + Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Centre , Amsterdam , the Netherlands .
authors.forename: Anitra D M
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Koopman
authors.affiliation: a Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics .|b EMGO + Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Centre , Amsterdam , the Netherlands .
authors.forename: Simone P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Rauh
authors.affiliation: d Centre of Research on Psychology in Somatic Diseases (CoRPS), Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University , Tilburg , the Netherlands .
authors.forename: Frans
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pouwer
authors.affiliation: e Department of Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular Research Institute (CARIM) , Maastricht University Medical Centre , Maastricht , the Netherlands , and.
authors.forename: Coen D A
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Stehouwer
authors.affiliation: b EMGO + Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Centre , Amsterdam , the Netherlands .|f Department of General Practice , VU University Medical Centre , Amsterdam , the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Petra J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Elders
authors.affiliation: b EMGO + Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Centre , Amsterdam , the Netherlands .|f Department of General Practice , VU University Medical Centre , Amsterdam , the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Giel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nijpels
authors.affiliation: a Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics .|b EMGO + Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Centre , Amsterdam , the Netherlands .
authors.forename: Jacqueline M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Dekker
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology; D015994:Incidence; D008016:Life Change Events; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016012:Poisson Distribution; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D055105:Waist Circumference
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D014280:Triglycerides
keywords: Incident; metabolic syndrome; stressful life events; waist circumference