The association between self-rated health and impaired glucose tolerance in Swedish adults: A cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE: To investigate gender differences in the association between self-rated health (SRH) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) in subjects unaware of their glucose tolerance. DESIGN: A cross-sectional population-based study. SETTING: The two municipalities of Vara and Skövde in south-western Sweden. SUBJECTS: A total of 2502 participants (1301 women and 1201 men), aged 30–75, were randomly selected from the population. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: IGT was regarded as the outcome measure and SRH as the main risk factor. RESULTS: The prevalence of IGT was significantly higher in women (11.9%) than in men (10.1%), (p = 0.029), as was the prevalence of low SRH (women: 35.4%; men: 22.1%, p = 0.006). Both men and women with low SRH had a poorer risk factor profile than those with high SRH, and a statistically significant crude association between SRH and IGT was found in both men (OR = 2.8, 95% CI 1.8–4.4) and women (OR = 1.5, 95% CI 1.0–2.2, p = 0.033). However, after controlling for several lifestyle factors and biomedical variables, the association was attenuated and remained statistically significant solely in men (OR = 2.3, 95% CI 1.2–4.3). CONCLUSION: The gender-specific associations found between SRH and IGT suggest that SRH may be a better indicator of IGT in men than in women. Future studies should evaluate the utility of SRH in comparison with objective health measures as a potential aid to health practitioners when deciding whether to screen for IGT and T2DM.