BASE-LINE DIETARY-INTAKE AND PHYSICAL-ACTIVITY OF JAPANESE-AMERICAN MEN IN RELATION TO GLUCOSE-TOLERANCE AT 5-YEAR FOLLOW-UP

Japanese American men (n = 124), with normal glucose tolerance (NGT, n = 69) or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT, n = 55) at baseline, were s tudied for effects of baseline dietary intake and physical activity on glucose tolerance at baseline and at 5-year follow-up. At baseline, b oth NGT and IGT men with positive family history of diabetes (FH) show ed high intakes of animal fat and protein, but only the NGT men counte red this with high levels of energy expenditure. In the total sample a t 5-year follow-up, 2-hour plasma glucose was significantly related to intake of animal fat (AF), partial correlation r = 0.32, P < 0.001, a djusted for total energy intake, age, self-reported health, body mass index, FH, and baseline glucose tolerance category. Energy expenditure (EE) was not related to 5-year 2-hour plasma glucose in the total sam ple, but displayed a relationship with 5-year 2-hour plasma glucose in those IGT (r = -0.27, P < 0.05), but not in those NGT at baseline, an d in those with positive FH (r = -0.33, P < 0.05), but not in those wi th negative FH. Additionally, AF showed a relationship to 5-year 2-hou r plasma glucose only for those in the lowest (r = 0.37, P < 0.05) and middle (r = 0.33, P < 0.05) tertiles, but not in the highest tertile of EE. For baseline IGT men, 5-year 2-hour plasma glucose was related to ''high vs. low risk'' categories of AF intake and EE, but only in m en with a positive FH (AF greater than or equal to 25 vs. < 25 g/day: 180.1 +/- 38.6 vs. 143.6 +/- 39.7 mg/dl, P = 0.048; EE less than or eq ual to 2,000 kcal/week vs. > 2,000 kcal/week, 189.9 +/- 39.2 vs. 150.8 +/- 37.4 mg/dl, P = 0.028; with risk categories combined, i.e., both high, mixed, both low: 192.0 +/- 41.3, 165.4 +/- 28.4, 139.4 +/- 40.9 mg/dl, P = 0.045, linear trend, P = 0.014). Thus, high AF intake and l ow EE may have long-range detrimental effects on glucose tolerance, es pecially for those with IGT and positive FH. (C) 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.