RESUMO
AIM: We investigated the effect of abdominal obesity (AO) on new onset of type 2 diabetes (NODM) in a general Japanese elderly population compared with that in a non-elderly population. METHODS: The subjects were 827 people aged 29-84 who underwent medical examinations in the towns of Tanno and Sobetsu in Hokkaido, first in 1994 and subsequently in either 2003 or 2004, after the exclusion of individuals with preexisting type 2 diabetes at baseline. The subjects were divided into 2 groups according to waist circumference (WC) at baseline: an AO (WC ≥85 cm for men and ≥90 cm for women) group and a non-AO group. The percentages of subjects with NODM recorded in either in 2003 or 2004 were compared between these 2 groups, and the AO odds ratio in NODM was calculated separately for elderly (≥65 years) and non-elderly (<65 years) subjects, using multiple logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The percentage of non-elderly subjects with NODM was significantly higher in the AO group than in the non-AO group (16.9% vs. 5.4%, p<0.0001), but there was no statistically significant difference in the elderly subjects. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that there was a significant relationship between AO and NODM (AO odds ratio in NODM=2.68, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.05-6.90) in the non-elderly subjects, but not in the elderly subjects. CONCLUSION: Consideration of the different effects of AO on NODM in elderly and non-elderly people may be important for the prevention of type 2 diabetes.