Adiposity and Diabetes Risk in Adults with Prediabetes: Heterogeneity of Findings Depending on Age and Anthropometric Measure.

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to evaluate the effect of age on diabetes incidence by general and central adiposity after 3-year follow-up in adults with prediabetes.

METHODS: Data were taken from a cohort of 1,184 subjects with prediabetes included in The Cohort Study in Primary Health Care on the Evolution of Patients with Prediabetes (PREDAPS). General adiposity was defined using body mass index (BMI), and central adiposity was defined with waist circumference and waist to height ratio. Data were analyzed by age groups 30 to 59 and 60 to 74 years. The association between adiposity and diabetes incidence was assessed using hazard ratios (HR).

RESULTS: Adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyles, and metabolic parameters, diabetes HR for central adiposity based on the waist circumference clinical cutoff were 2.14 (1.12-4.09) and 1.48 (0.80-2.74) for people aged 30 to 59 and 60 to 74 years, respectively. In the model additionally adjusted for BMI, diabetes HR were 2.65 (1.24-5.65) and 1.33 (0.68-2.59), respectively. The use of a 1-SD increase rather than cutoff points did not alter this pattern. Similar findings were observed with central adiposity based on waist to height ratio.

CONCLUSIONS: The association of central adiposity with type 2 diabetes incidence was lower for people in the older age group than for those in the younger age group.