Higher prevalence of risk factors for type 2 diabetes mellitus and subsequent higher incidence in men

Abstract 

Background

This study investigates risk factors and the incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (type 2 DM) in both sexes of a northern European population.

Methods

A total of 14,223 randomly selected men and women were studied from 1976 to 1978. Patients with diabetes (self-reported type 2 DM or non-fasting plasma glucose >11.1 mmol/l) were excluded. Some 6154 women and 4733 men were studied and followed up in 1981–1983 or in 1991–1994. The significance of risk factors was examined by multiple logistic regression analysis.

Results

Initially, a higher proportion of men than women had high, non-fasting blood glucose and triglycerides. Significantly more men (242, 5.4%) than women (152, 2.5%) developed type 2 DM. The odds ratio (OR) for developing diabetes with a BMI above 30 kg/m² compared to a BMI of 20–25 kg/m² was 8.1 in women and 6.3 in men; for a non-fasting plasma glucose of 8.4–11.0 mmol/l compared to a plasma glucose of 5.5–6.4, the ORs were 7.8 in women and 4.7 in men. The OR for developing diabetes in persons with a non-fasting triglyceride level above 2.0 mmol/l compared to 1.0–2.0 mmol/l was 1.8 in both sexes; women with non -fasting triglycerides below 1.0 mmol/l had an OR of 0.4.

Conclusion

In a randomly selected northern European population, significantly more men than women develop type 2 DM.

Keywords: Type 2 diabetes, Incidence, Sex differences, Glucose, Triglycerides