title: Geographic differences in the associations between impaired glucose regulation and cardiovascular risk factors among young adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess geographic differences in the association between BMI, blood pressure and lipid levels with impaired glucose regulation among young adults from various geographical regions.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a cross-sectional study including data from 6987 participants aged ≤ 30 years from India, Singapore, Australia, Greenland, Kenya and Tanzania. Impaired glucose regulation was determined by the 75-g oral glucose tolerance test. For each geographical region, BMI, blood pressure and lipids were examined and compared between participants with normal glucose tolerance and those with impaired glucose regulation. Multiple logistic regression models were used to assess the association between risk factors and impaired glucose regulation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Indian and East African people had a higher prevalence of impaired glucose regulation compared with participants from other regions, despite their lower BMI. Compared with the other regions, blood pressure was lower among Indian and Singaporean people but higher in those from Greenland. Greenlanders had the highest, while Indian and East-African people, had the lowest level of HDL cholesterol. BMI was positively associated with impaired glucose regulation in all regions, and there were no statistically significant geographic differences. In the Indian, Singaporean and Australian participants, there was a positive association between blood pressure and impaired glucose regulation. Triglycerides were positively associated with and HDL cholesterol had no association with impaired glucose regulation in all geographical regions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Higher BMI and triglyceride levels were positively associated with prevalent impaired glucose regulation in all geographical regions. There were geographic differences in the association between impaired glucose regulation and blood pressure and lipids, probably reflecting environmental and genetic factors.
authors.affiliation: Steno Diabetes Center, Gentofte, Denmark.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Oya
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vistisen
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Christensen
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Faurholt-Jepsen
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mohan
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ramachandran
authors.forename: S K H
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Chew
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Jørgensen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000351:Africa, Eastern / Q000453:epidemiology; D001208:Asia / Q000453:epidemiology; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003925:Diabetic Angiopathies / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D018149:Glucose Intolerance / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006116:Greenland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult