Sex-specific associations of anthropometric markers with prediabetes in the general population

We aimed to assess the sex-specific associations of different measures of body size, composition, and fat distribution with data from an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and to compare their effect sizes in a population-based study.

sCross-sectional data of 3628 (1898 women, 52 %) subjects aged between 20 and 84 years were taken from the Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP-Trend-0). We investigated associations of markers from body anthropometry, bioelectrical impedance analysis, and magnetic resonance imaging with markers from an OGTT including fasting glucose, fasting insulin, the homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance index, 2-h post-load (glucose and insulin) and glucose tolerance categories. For this, we used linear and multinomial logistic regression models stratified by sex and adjusted for confounding. All body composition markers were significantly associated with all OGTT parameters in both sexes. In women, visceral adipose tissue and liver fat content were most strongly associated with the OGTT parameters, while in men, the waist-to-height ratio showed the strongest association. Relative fat-free mass was the only marker, which was inversely associated with the OGTT parameters in both men and women. Overall, the associations of all body composition markers wee more pronounced in men than in women.

Our study highlights that associations between body composition markers and OGTT parameters differ between men and women with a tendency of stronger associations in men than in women. Sex-specific body composition markers may have to be considered in clinical practice to predict future prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.