DOC News December 1, 2005
Volume 2 Number 12 p. 12
© 2005 American Diabetes Association
High `Normal' Fasting Glucose Signals Diabetes Risk in Men
There's no question that an impaired fasting plasma glucose (FPG) level isa risk for type 2 diabetes. A recently reported large-scale Israeli studysuggests that an elevated risk of diabetes exists even within"normal" ranges ofFPG.
In the October 6, 2005, issue of the New England Journal ofMedicine, a group of investigators reported a study of 13,163 malemilitary personnel 26–45 years of age. Blood tests, data from physicalexaminations, and medical and lifestyle information were collected for allparticipants.
Researchers identified 208 cases of type 2 diabetes that developed during1992–2004. Analysis of data showed that when other risk factors werecontrolled for—smoking, physical activity, and family history ofdiabetes—a "progressively increasing risk" of diabetes waslinked to FPG levels 
87 mg/dl. Men with test results in this range werenearly five times more likely to develop diabetes than those with an FPG of<81 mg/dl.
An FPG of 91–99 mg/dl, combined with a serum triglyceride level of>150 mg/dl, produced a risk of diabetes more than eight times that of aperson with triglycerides 
150 mg/dl and an FPG of <86 mg/dl. A bodymass index (BMI) 30, along with an FPG of 91–99 mg/dl, alsoincreased the risk of type 2 diabetes eightfold.
"Higher fasting plasma glucose levels within the normoglycemic rangeconstitute an independent risk factor for type 2 diabetes," the authorsconclude. "[S]uch levels may help, along with body mass index andtriglyceride levels, to identify apparently healthy men at increased risk ofdiabetes."
Tirosh A, Shai I, Tekes-Manova D, et al.: Normal fastingplasma glucose levels and type 2 diabetes in young men. N Engl JMed 353:1454–1462, 2005[Abstract/Free Full Text].
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