Age-Dependent Decline of Association Between Obesity and Hyperglycemia in Men and Women

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether age influences the association between obesity and hyperglycemia. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: The subjects were 57,576 Japanese male and female workers aged 35–70 years. The associations of adiposity indices, including BMI, waist circumference, and waist-to-height ratio, with risk for hyperglycemia were compared among different age groups (35–39, 40–49, 50–59, and 60–70 years) using odds ratios (ORs). RESULTS: There were significant trends for the crude ORs of obese subjects versus nonobese subjects for hyperglycemia to be lower as age increased in men and women. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed these trends of age-dependent decreases in ORs for hyperglycemia were not altered by adjustment for confounders such as smoking, alcohol drinking, and habitual exercise. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the association between obesity and hyperglycemia declines with age in men and women.