Serum Phosphorus as a Risk Factor of Metabolic Syndrome in the Elderly in Taiwan: A Large-Population Cohort Study

The impact of serum phosphorus concentration on metabolic syndrome were limited. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the association between the serum phosphorus and incident metabolic syndrome in the elderly in Taiwan. We included 1491 participants who had health check-ups in the Tri-Service General Hospital for the period 2007 to 2015 and divided them based on age to assess the incidence of metabolic syndrome. We performed the COX regression model to explore the impact of serum phosphorus for metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension by an age-specific group. Our result showed that higher serum phosphorus concentration was noted in the elderly in the baseline characteristics. In the group older than 60 years, serum phosphorus concentration was correlated with the incidence of metabolic syndrome (hazard ratios (HR) = 1.39, 95% CI 1.11-1.74) and diabetes mellitus (HR = 1.49, 95% CI 1.15-1.92) after adjustment. We further found the relationship between serum phosphorus and incidence of the components of metabolic syndrome, including higher waist circumference, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), serum triglyceride, and fast glucose. Our study might provide an epidemiological evidence that serum phosphorus was related with the incidence of metabolic syndrome in the elderly in Taiwan.