Differences in height explain gender differences in the response to the oral glucose tolerance test— the AusDiab study

Abstract

Men and women had different glycaemic profiles; women had higher mean 2hPG levels, despite lower fasting levels. It appeared that the higher 2hPG levels for women related to lesser height and may be a consequence of using a fixed glucose load in the OGTT, irrespective of body size.

Sex differences in glucose levels: a consequence of physiology or methodological convenience? The Inter99 study

“…Our results support the findings from the AusDiab study [1], indicating that sex differences in 2hPG levels are explained by differences in height between men and women. The authors of the AusDiab study suggest that the inverse association between height and 2hPG levels reflects the larger amount of metabolically active tissue that tall individuals have available for metabolising the fixed amount of glucose compared with short individuals.…”

“…In fact, our study showed that men had higher 2hPG levels than women for a given height. Therefore, sex differences in 2hPG and in the prevalence of i-IGT, as documented in previous studies [1][2][3], are probably not related to sex-specific differences in the physiology of glucose regulation. This finding was further supported by the fact that more women than men with i-IGT had HbA 1c levels <6.0% and that 2hPG levels were higher in women than in men, despite lower or similar HbA 1c levels (Fig.…”

“…Several studies have shown that shorter stature is associated with higher 2hPG levels, [1,[18][19][20], and genetic or pre-and postnatal environmental factors have been suggested as explanatory mechanisms [21,22]. If the association between height and 2hPG levels is causally related to inherent metabolic abnormalities, we would expect HbA 1c levels to also be affected by height.…”

“…The prevalence of isolated impaired glucose tolerance (i-IGT) is higher in women than in men, whereas the prevalence of isolated impaired fasting glycaemia (i-IFG) is higher in men than in women [1][2][3][4]. While it is unknown why men have a higher prevalence of i-IFG, some studies have recently suggested that the higher prevalence of i-IGT in women may be related to differences in body size between men and women [1,5,6].…”

“…While it is unknown why men have a higher prevalence of i-IFG, some studies have recently suggested that the higher prevalence of i-IGT in women may be related to differences in body size between men and women [1,5,6]. Men and women are given the same amount of glucose during a standard 75 g OGTT, and as women are generally shorter and have smaller body size and a smaller absolute amount of fat-free mass than men they may be less able to metabolise the fixed amount of glucose.…”