Resumo

PERICH AMADOR, Pedro; GONZALEZ SUAREZ, Roberto M.; VALDES RAMOS, Eduardo  e  ARRANZ CALZADO, María Celeste. Development of diabetes mellitus in patients with impaired glucose tolerance: An 18-year follow-up. Rev Cubana Endocrinol [online]. 2002, vol.13, n.2, pp. 0-0. ISSN 1561-2953.

A prospective study was conducted among 84 patients that were diagnosed “impaired glucose tolerance” (IGT) 18 years ago in order to know the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and to identify clinical or metabolic factors that may be associated to an unfavorable evolution of this affection. It was found that of the 114 subjects with IGT that were part of the initial group, 25 (22 %) had died. Their clinical characteristics were reviewed and it was found that they had an average of 10 years of age more that those who had not died and a significantly higher frequency of electrocardiographic signs of ischaemic heart disease, arterial hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and smoking habit. In the 84 individuals among whom the metabolic evolution was studied, more than half (53.6 %) evolved to DM, 23.8 % maintained with IGT and the other 22.6 % had normal glucose tolerance. There was no relationship between the clinical characteristics in the initial study and the type of evolution. Those subjects that at the beginning had disorders of glycaemia regulation during fasting (figures ³ 6.1 mmol/L) presented a higher frequency of manifest diabetes than the rest 18 years later, a difference that is not statistically significant. It was concluded that the impaired glucose tolerance is an important risk factor for type 2 diabetes mellitus and that the disorders of glycaemia regulation during fasting are an advance stage of this risk situation. Therefore, clinical and metabolic indicators associated with the unfavorable evolution are needed to establish early the risk level of the individuals with IGT.

Palavras-chave : NON-INSULIN DEPENDENT DIABETES MELLITUS; GLUCOSE TOLERANCE TEST; RISK FACTORS; INSULIN RESISTANCE.