The variation of glucose tolerance in a multi racial population

The pattern of plasma and urine sugar changes after 50g glucose load in 1900 Malaysians (522 males and 1378 females) consisting predominantly of Malays, Chinese and Indians were studied. The data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The results show bimodal distribution of 120 min. plasma sugar values in the age groups 21 years and above and trimodal distribution in most groups above 40 years. The mean 120 minutes plasma sugar cut-off values for nondiabetics (ND), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), and diabetics (DM) of 8.4 and 11.1 mmol/l respectively were close to the values recommended by the National Diabetic Data Group (NDDG). Fifty two percent of all subjects showed peaked plasma sugar values at 60 minutes (14% of them had IGT, 12% DM), 25% peaked at 30 minutes (98% of them were ND). The rest showed peaked values at 90 minutes (17%), 120 minutes (4%) and 150 minutes (2%) and from this group forty two percent were DM and 23% had IGT. Reliance on urine sugar qualitative tests could misclassify 7.3% of subjects (predominantly elderly females) with hyperglycaemia of greater than 11 mmol/l. This study shows that in the 50 g glucose tolerance test, the NDDG criteria for ND, IGT, DM is still applicable to the Malaysian population. The sampling time could be reduced to four points at 0, 60, 90, and 120 minutes. Blood analysis is the preferred method for the diagnosis of hyperglycaemia in elderly females.