Objective To determine whether smoking increases the risk for developing metabolic syndrome (MetS) in Chinese men.Methods A total of 693 men with no MetS at baseline were followed for 2.9‐5.5 years.Subjects were divided into nonsmokers,ex‐smokers,and current smokers according to baseline smoking status.Results After adjusting for age,education level,alcohol intake,fasting plasma insulin,HOMA‐IR index,and BMI at baseline and weight change,current smokers were dose‐dependently associated with increased risk for developing new MetS compared with nonsmokers.The odds ratio (OR) was 2.131 (95% CI,1.264,3.592;P<0.01) for the NCEPIII definition or 3.083 (95% CI,1.807,5.295;P<0.01) for the JCDCG definition of MetS.Ex‐smokers who had quit for ≥13 years significantly decreased the risk for developing new MetS defined by the JCDCG definition.Compared with nonsmokers,current smokers were significantly associated with increased incidence of hypertriglyceridemia and low HDL‐C.Conclusion Smoking is a risk factor for developing MetS in Chinese men after adjusting for age,education level,alcohol intake,fasting plasma insulin,HOMA‐IR,BMI,and weight change.This could be due to an increased incidence of dyslipidemia.Smoking cessation for >13 years decreased the risk for developing MetS defined by the JCDCG definition.
