This study was aimed at examining the association between dietary flavanones intake and lipid profiles according to the presence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in Korean women with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

A cross-sectional analysis was performed among 502 female T2DM patients (non-MetS group; n = 129, MetS group; n = 373) who were recruited from the Huh's Diabetes Clinic in Seoul, Korea between 2005 and 2011. The dietary intake was assessed by a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and the data was analyzed using the Computer Aided Nutritional Analysis program (CAN-Pro) version 4.0 software. The intake of flavanones was estimated on the basis of the flavonoid database.

In the multiple linear regression analysis after adjustment for confounding factors, daily flavanones intake was negatively associated with CVD risk factors such as total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and apoB and apoB/apoA1 ratio only in the MetS group but not in the non-MetS group. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that the odds ratio for a higher apoB/apoA1 ratio above the median (≥ 0.74) was significantly low in the 4^th quartile compared to that in the 1^st quartile of dietary flavanones intake [OR: 0.477, 95% CI: 0.255-0.894, P for trend = 0.0377] in the MetS group.

Dietary flavanones intake was inversely associated with the apoB/apoA1 ratio, suggesting a potential protective effect of flavanones against CVD in T2DM women with MetS.