IGT Raises Stroke Risk

Impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) raises the risk of future stroke innondiabetic people who have had transient ischemic attack (TIA) or minorischemic stroke, according to a study recently reported in the journalStroke.

It had been known that IGT was linked to stroke risk in people withcoronary heart disease, but not much is known about its effects on people withcerebrovascular disease.

Sarah E. Vermeer, MD, PhD, and colleagues in the Dutch TIA Trial StudyGroup studied stroke risk in 3,127 patients enrolled in a trial testing twodifferent doses of aspirin and atenolol versus placebo. Researchers estimatedthe risk of stroke, heart attack, and cardiac-related death in relation tononfasting glucose levels during a 2.6-year follow-up.

The group found a J-shaped relationship between nonfasting glucose levelsand the risk of stroke: The risk of stroke nearly doubled among people withIGT and almost tripled in people with diabetes, compared with those who hadglucose levels within normal limits. Participants with hypoglycemia had a 50%greater risk of stroke as well.

The researchers suggest that a trial be launched to study whether intensiveglucose control reduces the incidence of stroke in people with IGT.

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