Association between breakfast skipping and metabolic outcomes by sex, age, and work status stratification

BACKGROUND The association between breakfast skipping and abnormal metabolic outcomes remains controversial. A comprehensive study with various stratified data is required. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between abnormal metabolic outcomes and breakfast skipping by sex, age, and work status stratification. METHODS We used data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys from 2013 to 2018. A total of 21,193 (9022 men and 12,171 women) participants were included in the final analysis. The risk of metabolic outcomes linked to breakfast skipping was estimated using the negative binomial regression analysis by sex, work status, and age stratification. RESULTS A total of 11,952 (56.4%) participants consumed breakfast regularly. The prevalence of abnormal metabolic outcomes was higher among those with irregular breakfast consumption habits. Among young male workers, negative binomial regression analysis showed that irregular breakfast eaters had a higher risk of abnormal metabolic outcomes, after adjusting for covariates (odds ratio, 1.15; 95% confidence interval, 1.03-1.27). CONCLUSIONS The risk of abnormal metabolic outcomes was significant in young men in the working population. Further studies are required to understand the association of specific working conditions (working hours or shift work) with breakfast intake status and the risk of metabolic diseases.