Differential Impact of Maternal and Paternal Metabolic Syndrome on Offspring’s Cardiometabolic Risk Factors

This study compared the sex-specific influence of maternal and paternal metabolic syndrome on offspring using the 2007–2020 Korean National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey database. As a result, male offspring of fathers with metabolic syndrome presented increased blood glucose levels and unfavorable lipid profiles, whereas female offspring presented increased blood pressure, increased triglyceride levels, and decreased HDL cholesterol levels. Maternal metabolic syndrome was associated with adverse lipid profiles in offspring of both sexes, along with increased blood pressure in males and increased waist circumference and systolic blood pressure in females. When both parents had metabolic syndrome, the adjusted odds ratios for metabolic syndrome and most of its components were significantly elevated for male offspring. Conversely, female offspring exhibited relatively less elevated odds ratios of the metabolic syndrome. The disparate transgenerational impact on metabolic health by sexes emphasizes the need for sex-specific screening and management strategies for families with metabolic syndrome.