Effect of age on plasma glucose and insulin responses to a test mixed meal

Plasma glucose and insulin responses to an oral dextrose tolerance test and to a mixed-meal test were determined in fully ambulatory residents of a retirement community. The study population consisted of 127 women and 79 men, whose ages ranged from 47 to 90 years. Progressive hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia with age could be demonstrated in the women. These changes were observed with either type of tolerance test and could not be attributed to age-related differences in measurements of body mass index or estimates of physical activity. In contrast, no significant changes with age in either glucose or insulin responses were noted in men. The ability to document increases in the plasma glucose or insulin responses were noted in men. The ability to document increases in the plasma glucose and insulin responses to a mixed meal suggests that aging, at least in women, is associated with day-long elevations of both plasma glucose and insulin concentrations. The possible relationship of these metabolic changes to the development of atherosclerosis merits further consideration.