Blood Glucose and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease

Health status of 1877 Tecumseh Study subjects aged 35–64 years was ascertained in1977. They represented 77% of the persons in this age range who were apparently healthy and had participated in comprehensive examinations of nearly the entire population of the community in 1959–1960 and 1962–1965. Subjects who developed coronary heart disease had a significantly higher mean blood glucose concentration than other members of the cohort, even after exclusion of diabetics. Similarly, when examined as single variables, age, sex, serum cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, number of cigarettes smoked per day, and relative weight were significantly related to incidence of coronary events. In the multiple logistic function, however, age, cigarette smoking, blood pressure, and blood glucose were the only significant variables. In a two-way interaction model, glucose and cholesterol were a highly predictive pair. After exclusion of diagnosed diabetics, glucose by itself or in interaction with other variables was not significant in the multiple logistic functions.