Women have steeper inverse relationship between age and body mass index at diagnosis
FRIDAY, Oct. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Men are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at a lower body mass index (BMI) than women, with a steeper inverse relationship between BMI and age at diagnosis for women, according to a study published online Sept. 30 in Diabetologia.
Jennifer Logue, M.D., from the University of Glasgow in the United Kingdom, and colleagues evaluated the relationships between age, gender, and BMI at diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, and examined whether men are diagnosed with diabetes at a lower average BMI than women of comparable age. Using data from a population-based diabetes register in Scotland, a total of 51,920 men and 43,137 women whose index BMI measurements were recorded within one year of diabetes diagnosis were included in a linear regression analysis. Additionally, HbA1c values were measured by gender within one year of diabetes diagnosis.
The investigators found that the mean BMI closest to the date of diagnosis of type 2 diabetes was 31.83 and 33.69 kg/m² in men and women, respectively. A significantly steeper inverse relationship between age and BMI at diagnosis of type 2 diabetes was observed in women compared to men. Younger age was associated with more marked differences in mean BMI, which narrowed with advancing age. The HbA1c levels were broadly alike in men and women within one year of diagnosis.
"We confirm an inverse relationship between age and BMI at diagnosis of diabetes, but, importantly, extend existing knowledge to show that men across the age spectrum are diagnosed with diabetes at a lower BMI than women," the authors write.
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