This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Higher 120-minute glucose level was independently associated with mortality
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Results of a new study show which information from oral glucose tolerance tests can be used independently predict mortality.
The most significant independent risk factor for mortality was the higher 120-minute glucose, according to researchers from the National Institutes of Health and University of Parma in Italy.
They studied 1,401 people aged 17 to 95 who participated in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. Each individual underwent one or more OGTT and had insulin and glucose measurements taken every 20 minutes during a two-hour period. None of the participants had diabetes upon study entry.
During more than 20 years of follow-up, first-hour OGTT glucose and insulin levels increased slightly with age. However, second-hour levels increased more dramatically — 4% per decade. The higher rise with age of the two-hour values is consistent with previous reports, according to the study.
When examined separately, the 100-minute and 120-minute glucose measures were also independent predictors of mortality, as were the fasting and 100-minute insulin levels. However, when examined together, the higher 120-minute glucose level was the only significant independent risk factor for mortality. These findings suggest the value of using the OGTT in clinical practice, according to the researchers. – by Katie Kalvaitis
Diabetes Care. 2008;31:1026-1030.