Underweight as a Predictor of Diabetes in Older Adults

A total of 39,201 men and 88,012 women aged 40–79 years who underwent health checkups in 1993 and who were free of diabetes were followed until the end of 2004 to examine an association between underweight and risk of diabetes. Incident diabetes was defined by a fasting blood glucose concentration ≥7.0 mmol/l or nonfasting glucose ≥11.1 mmol/l and/or diabetes treatment. The multivariable hazard ratio of diabetes adjusted for age, baseline blood glucose level, fasting status, and other confounding variables among subjects who had a BMI <18.5 kg/m2 compared with those with a BMI 18.5–24.9 kg/m2 was 1.32 (95% CI 1.12–1.56) in men aged 60–79 years and 1.31 (1.07–1.60) in women aged 60–79 years. Underweight may be associated with risk of diabetes among older adults. In the present study, we enrolled 181,863 nondiabetic Japanese subjects (58,402 men and 123,461 women) from community residents aged 40–79 years who underwent health checkups in 1993 conducted by the local governments under the Japan Health Laws. We excluded 19,201 men and 35,449 women who did not participate in the 1994 survey, thereby ensuring that the subjects were followed up for at least 1 year. A total of 39,201 men and …