Background: The aim of this study was to study the association between resting heart rate(HR), and the risk and prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in Korean adults.
Methods: A total of 856 subjects aged 18~65 years were recruited, and they participated in regular health checkup program from Nov 2008 to Feb 2009. Resting heart rate, physical composition, components of Mets (waist circumference, body pressure, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and glucose) of object people of this study were measured.
Results: Participants were categorized into 3 groups based on their HR. Male subjects in the 1st tertile group had lower levels of diastolic blood pressure, triglycerides, and fasting glucose, with higher levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol than those in the 2nd and 3rd tertile. Female subjects in the 1st tertile group had lower levels of diastolic blood pressure and fasting glucose than those in the 2nd and 3rd tertile. Also, females in the 3rd tertile group had significantly higher triglycerides levels than those in the 1st and 2nd tertile. For subjects with BMI less than 23 kg/m² and HR greater than 76 beats/minute, the odds ratio of developing MetS was 7.08 (95% CI 1.60~31.36) compared to participants with HR under 76 beats/minute.
Conclusion: HR was significantly associated with the presence of the MetS, independent of BMI. This study suggests that high HR may be an important factor for the prediction of MetS among Korean adults.

Keywords: Metabolic syndrome, Resting heart rate, Korean adult, BMI

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