Higher intakes of fruits, vegetables, and multiple individual nutrients is associated with a lower risk of metabolic syndrome among adults with comorbidities.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) has attracted increasing attention because its prevalence and socioeconomic burden have increased globally. We hypothesized that higher intakes of fruits, vegetables, and multiple individual nutrients are associated with a lower risk of MetS among adults with comorbidities. Therefore, we aim to explore the association between intake of multiple individual nutrients, vegetables and fruits, and MetS among Korean adults. A data set of 67,302 adults aged ≥ 18 years was collected between 2009 and 2019. Odds ratios for MetS were calculated for log2-transformed multiple individual nutrient intake values and for the interaction of sex and comorbidities with multiple individual nutrient intake. Subsequently, we also predict the risks of MetS based on marginal effects. A 2-fold increase in daily vitamin B2, B3, total vitamin A, retinol, monounsaturated fatty acid, polyunsaturated fatty acid, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, protein, n-3, and n-6 fatty acid intakes was negatively related to the prevalence of MetS in women. High white and red vegetable consumption was associated with a lower risk of MetS in both women and men, whereas high fruit consumption was associated with a lower risk of MetS in men. Furthermore, increased daily vitamin B2, retinol intake, high fruit, and white and red vegetable consumption reduce the risk of MetS among adults with comorbidities. These findings reveal a link between nutrients, fruits, vegetables, and the presence of MetS. More research is needed to identify whether interactions between consumption of nutrients, vegetables, and fruits affect the existence of MetS.