The association between low frequency of having breakfast and dyslipidemia in South Korean men and women

Background/Objectives: This study investigated the association between frequency of having breakfast and dyslipidemia in South Korean adults aged 30 or over. Subjects/Methods: This study, including 10,874 participants, was based on the Seventh Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted between 2013 and 2016. Using multiple logistic regression analysis, we examined the associations between frequency of having breakfast (and other covariates) and dyslipidemia in men and women. Results: Dyslipidemia was more common among male participants with lower frequency of having breakfast in a week and was significantly high in “0 times a week” group (OR = 1.42, 95% CI, 1.13–1.78) compared with 5–7 times/week. This trend was observed in those aged 40–59 years, white collar workers, those living with their spouse, and overweight or obese participants among males and in females aged 40–49 and ≥ 60 years. Statistically significant tendency of having dyslipidemia was observed with decreasing frequency of having breakfast in total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and triglycerides in males (LDL-C: p for trend < 0.0001, TG: p for trend = 0.0004), but not in females. Conclusion: Frequency of having breakfast was associated with reduced dyslipidemia rate. The risk of dyslipidemia with a low frequency of breakfast was particularly observed in males aged 40–59, white collar workers, those living with a spouse, and postmenopausal females aged ≥ 60.