The association between oral contraceptive use and the risk of metabolic syndrome in Korean women: a national population-based study

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the association between oral contraceptive (OC) use and the incidence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components in Korean women.Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study including 11,084 Korean women between 2012 and 2020 based on nationally representative data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the relationships between OC use, MetS, and its components.Results: In total, 11,084 women were included in the study, of whom 1,117 (10.1%) used OCs and 8.5% had MetS. The prevalence of MetS was higher in the OC users (11.5%) than in the non-OC users (8.1%) (p<0.001). The OC users had an increased risk of MetS (odds ratio [OR], 1.480; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.215‒1.802; p<0.001). Additionally, OC users had higher risks of abdominal obesity (OR, 1.319; 95% CI, 1.119‒1.555), hypertension (OR, 1.557; 95% CI, 1.302‒1.863), and hypertriglyceridemia (OR, 1.521; 95% CI, 1.287‒1.797).Conclusions: The incidence of MetS was higher among OC users, with waist circumference, hypertension, and hypertriglyceridemia being significantly more prevalent components of MetS. These findings can provide valuable evidence to support the development of evidence-based health policies related to women’s health.