New Fasting Glucose Standard Does Not Predict Cardiac Risk in Older Women

In postmenopausal women with heart disease, impaired fasting glucose is not associated with a greater cardiovascular risk. Dr. Alka M. Kanaya of the Women’s Health Clinical Research Center, San Francisco and colleagues examined the association between lowering fasting glucose level criterion for impairment and cardiovascular outcomes. The 1997 guidelines defined glucose impairment as fasting levels of 110-125 mg/dL.

"We found that among postmenopausal women with known heart disease, the new definition for impaired fasting glucose — 100-125 mg/dL — was not associated with any increased risk of cardiovascular disease," Dr. Kanaya told Reuters Health.
The researchers followed 2763 postmenopausal women with established coronary disease for 6.8 years. Diabetic women (n = 734) were about 75% more likely to have a cardiovascular event than were normoglycemic women, but there was no association with the new criterion.

"This expanded definition for impaired fasting glucose," Dr. Kanaya concluded, "triples the number of people with impaired fasting glucose, but this does not help us define a group of people at risk for any adverse cardiovascular outcomes."
Ann Intern Med 2005;142:813-820.

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