Researchers have found in a new study that there was an association between anxiety and metabolic syndrome (MetS).
The study was published in Frontiers of Psychiatry.
The scientific literature suggests that up to 40% of patients with anxiety may also suffer from metabolic syndrome (MetS). Although the relationship between anxiety and MetS has been previously characterized, there are several new studies to add to the growing body of research. As a result, the objective of the present study was to provide an updated meta-analysis with the goal of further exploring the association between anxiety and MetS.
Previous studies have demonstrated an association between anxiety and metabolic syndrome (MetS). However, the association is still controversial. This updated meta-analysis aimed to reanalyze the association between anxiety and metabolic syndrome (MetS).
Researchers comprehensively searched PubMed, Embase and Web of Science for all related studies published before January 23, 2023. Observational studies that informed effect size with 95% confidence interval (CI) for the association between anxiety and MetS were included. According to heterogeneity between studies, fixed or random effects models were applied to calculate the pooled effect size. Publication bias was examined by funnel plots.
Results
The research included 24 cross-sectional studies: 20 studies used MetS as the dependent variable with a pooled OR of 1.07 (95% CI: 1.01–1.13) and four studies used anxiety as the dependent variable with a pooled OR of 1.14 (95% CI: 1.07–1.23).
Three cohort studies were found: two studies detected the association of baseline anxiety with the risk of MetS, one of the studies demonstrated a significant association, but a similar result was not found in another study; one study showed no significant association between baseline metabolic syndrome (MetS) and the risk of anxiety.
Cross-sectional studies indicated an association between anxiety and MetS. The results from cohort studies are still inconsistent and limited. More large-scale prospective studies are needed to further reveal the causal relationship of anxiety with metabolic syndrome (MetS).
Reference:
Ji S, Chen Y, Zhou Y, Cao Y, Li X, Ding G, Tang F. Association between anxiety and metabolic syndrome: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Psychiatry. 2023 Feb 16;14:1118836. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1118836. PMID: 36873213; PMCID: PMC9978147.