Effects of Age and Sex on Estimated Diabetes Prevalence Using Different Diagnostic Criteria: The Tromsø OGTT Study

• Main Authors: Moira Strand Hutchinson, Ragnar Martin Joakimsen, Inger Njølstad, Henrik Schirmer, Yngve Figenschau, Johan Svartberg, Rolf Jorde
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Tromsø
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.1045.519; http://downloads.hindawi.com/journals/ije/2013/613475.pdf

HbA 1c 6.5% has recently been recommended as an alternative diagnostic criterion for diabetes. e aims of the study were to evaluate the effects of age, sex, and other factors on prevalence of diabetes and to compare risk pro�les of subjects with diabetes when de�ned by HbA 1c and glucose criteria. Subjects were recruited among participants in the longitudinal population-based Tromsø Study. HbA 1c , fasting plasma glucose, and 2-hour plasma glucose were measured in 3,476 subjects. In total, 294 subjects met one or more of the diagnostic criteria for diabetes; 95 met the HbA 1c criterion only, 130 met the glucose criteria only, and 69 met both. Among subjects with diabetes detected by glucose criteria (regardless of HbA 1c ), isolated raised 2-hour plasma glucose was more common in subjects aged ≥ 60 years as compared to younger subjects and in elderly women as compared to elderly men. Subjects with diabetes detected by glucose criteria only had worse cardiometabolic risk pro�les than those detected by HbA 1c only. In conclusion, the current HbA 1c and glucose criteria de�ned different subjects with diabetes with only modest overlap. Among a substantial proportion of elderly subjects, and especially elderly women, the 2-hour plasma glucose was the only abnormal value.