Impaired glucose tolerance and impaired fasting glucose share similar underlying pathophysiologies.
Both impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and impaired fasting glucose (IFG) are pre-diabetic states. IGT was defined as having normal fasting plasma glucose (< 6.1 mmol/l) and abnormal 2-hr post-challenge plasma glucose. IFG was defined as having abnormal fasting plasma and normal 2-hr post-challenge plasma glucose (< 7.8 mmol/l). To explore whether these two abnormalities share similar underlying pathophysiologies, we evaluated risk factors of IGT and IFT using the models of factor analysis. The present study included 107 subjects with IGT and 52 with IFG. An oral glucose tolerance test and insulin suppression test, which could quantify insulin resistance, were performed on separate days. The risk factors include waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, blood pressure, and fasting plasma glucose, which are associated with metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance. Factor analysis is a commonly used statistical method that could reduce a large number of risk factors into smaller numbers of groups, also called dimension. Accordingly, the complicated data could be interpreted more easily, since the related risk factors are grouped in one dimension. The results showed that the risk factors of IGT and IFG have similar grouping patterns. Triglyceride, insulin resistance, and HDL-cholesterol were grouped in one dimension (the lipid dimension), while WHR, mean blood pressure and fasting plasma glucose were grouped in another dimension (the metabolic dimension). In conclusion, except for WHR, the grouping patterns of the components in both IGT and IFG were nearly identical. These results suggest that IGT and IFG may share similar pathophysiologies.
Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital and College of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
Jiunn Diann
JD
Lin
Hsiang-Lin
HL
Wan
Jer-Chuan
JC
Li
Chung-Ze
CZ
Wu
Shi-Wen
SW
Kuo
Chang-Hsun
CH
Hsieh
Wei-Chen
WC
Lian
Chien-Hsing
CH
Lee
Mei-Teng
MT
Kao
Dee
D
Pei
D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D005215:Fasting; D018149:Glucose Intolerance / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005951:Glucose Tolerance Test; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011236:Prediabetic State / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013223:Statistics as Topic
D001786:Blood Glucose