Background
This study aimed to examine the effects of different types of skipped meals on cardiometabolic risk factors (CMRF) in Korean adults.
Methods
We analyzed 14,062 adults from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted between 2016 and 2018. The irregularity of breakfast, lunch, and dinner consumption was assessed using 24-hour recall data, and we categorized the habit of skipping regular meals into eight types. Multiple linear regression was used to estimate the association between each type of meal skipping and the CMRF. We also presented the estimated effects of individual types of meal skipping on the CMRF based on their predicted values and mean differences.
Results
Korean adults tended to have irregular meal consumption habits when they had one or more of the following characteristics: female sex, under the age of 50 years, middle-high to high household income, high school or college or higher education levels, alcohol consumption, and current smoking. Compared to regular eaters, we have observed significantly higher total cholesterol in the following types of meal skipping: irregular breakfast (IB) (P<0.001), irregular lunch (P=0.005), irregular breakfast and lunch (IBL) (P=0.001), irregular breakfast and dinner (P=0.001); higher low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol in IB (P=0.009); higher triglyceride in IB (P=0.005) and IBL (P=0.034); and higher fasting glucose in IB (P=0.046).
Conclusion
Different types of meal skipping were associated with CMRF. Regular breakfast and lunch consumption should be emphasized to prevent and manage cardiometabolic disorders. However, skipping dinner showed no significant association with CMRF.

Citations

• A Biochemical View on Intermittent Fasting’s Effects on Human Physiology—Not Always a Beneficial Strategy
  Willian F. Zambuzzi, Marcel Rodrigues Ferreira, Zifan Wang, Maikel P. Peppelenbosch
  Biology.2025; 14(6): 669.     CrossRef
• Past Meal-Skipping Habits Associate With Physical Frailty in Later Life: A Retrospective Cohort Study
  Chiharu Nishijima, Kenji Harada, Satoshi Kurita, Masanori Morikawa, Kazuya Fujii, Daisuke Kakita, Hiroyuki Shimada
  Journal of the American Medical Directors Association.2025; 26(12): 105893.     CrossRef
• Primary Care Physicians’ Important Role: Lifestyle Modification for Chronic Disease Management
  Su-Min Jeong
  Korean Journal of Family Medicine.2024; 45(5): 237.     CrossRef

Background
The factors associated with sleep disorder are controversial. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of sleep disorder and the factors associated with sleep disorder among Korean adult cancer survivors.
Methods
In this cross-sectional study, we collected data on sleep problems as outcome variables, and sociodemographic and clinical information as predictor variables from cancer survivors at two university-affiliated hospitals. Sleep disorder was defined as “a difficulty in sleep initiation or sleep maintenance at least 3 times a week that started after a cancer diagnosis.” Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed with odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) to evaluate the factors associated with sleep disorder.
Results
The participants were 1,893 Korean cancer survivors (mean age, 58.1 years; females 68.0%). The prevalence of sleep disorder among male and female cancer survivors were 16.5% and 20.3%, respectively. An increase of age by 1-year was associated with a 1.04 (95% CI, 1.01–1.07; P=0.011) times higher risk of sleep disorder in males, while an inverse association was found in females. In female survivors, high fear of cancer recurrence (FCR), high anxiety, menopause, and high EuroQol Visual Analog Scale were associated with 1.45 (95% CI, 1.06–1.98; P=0.020), 1.78 (95% CI, 1.25–2.55; P=0.002), 1.70 (95% CI, 1.08–2.67; P=0.022), and 0.59 (95% CI, 0.43–0.82; P=0.002) times higher risk of sleep disorder, respectively. In male survivors, living with a spouse/or partner was associated with 57% (95% CI, 0.20–0.95; P=0.036) lower risk of sleep disorder. Analyses of cancer sites showed that the factors associated with sleep disorder varied across cancer sites.
Conclusion
One-fifth of adult cancer survivors had sleep disorder. Age, menopausal status, FCR, anxiety, living with a spouse or partner, and quality of life were independently associated with sleep disorder in Korean cancer survivors.

Citations

• Social support, fear of cancer recurrence and sleep quality in breast cancer: A moderated network analysis
  Yingting Jiang, Xinyu Wu, Hongman Li, Ying Xiong, M. Tish Knobf, Zengjie Ye
  European Journal of Oncology Nursing.2025; 74: 102799.     CrossRef
• Subgroups of sleep quality and associated risk factors in patients with cancer undergoing radiotherapy: A cross-sectional study based on latent profile analysis
  Liuna Bi, Xian Zhang, Linlin Wang, Yanxiu Cai, Jing Han
  European Journal of Oncology Nursing.2024; 68: 102488.     CrossRef