Tanaka K, Higuchi R, Mizusawa K, Nakamura T, Nakajima K. Fasting biochemical hypoglycemia and related-factors in non-diabetic population: Kanagawa Investigation of Total Check-up Data from National Database-8. World J Diabetes 2021; 12(7): 1131-1140 [PMID: 34326960 DOI: 10.4239/wjd.v12.i7.1131]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Kei Nakajima, MD, PhD, Doctor, Professor, School of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health and Social Services, Kanagawa University of Human Services, 1-10-1 Heisei-cho, Yokosuka 238-8522, Japan. nakajima-rsh@kuhs.ac.jp
Research Domain of This Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Article-Type of This Article
Observational Study
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Diabetes. Jul 15, 2021; 12(7): 1131-1140 Published online Jul 15, 2021. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v12.i7.1131
Fasting biochemical hypoglycemia and related-factors in non-diabetic population: Kanagawa Investigation of Total Check-up Data from National Database-8
Kotone Tanaka, Graduate School of Health Innovation, Kanagawa University of Human Services, Kawasaki 210-0821, Japan
Ryoko Higuchi, Kaori Mizusawa, Teiji Nakamura, Kei Nakajima, School of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health and Social Services, Kanagawa University of Human Services, Yokosuka 238-8522, Japan
Kei Nakajima, Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Saitama Medical Center, Saitama Medical University, Kawagoe 350-8550, Japan
Author contributions: Nakajima K and Nakamura T conceived and designed original study; Tanaka K and Nakajima K analyzed the data; Higuchi R and Mizusawa K prepared the documents related to the study and organized the data; Tanaka K and Nakajima K wrote the first draft of the manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of Kanagawa University of Human Services Institutional Review Board.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was waived.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict-of-interest.
Data sharing statement: Not available.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE statement, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE statement.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Kei Nakajima, MD, PhD, Doctor, Professor, School of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health and Social Services, Kanagawa University of Human Services, 1-10-1 Heisei-cho, Yokosuka 238-8522, Japan. nakajima-rsh@kuhs.ac.jp
Received: February 8, 2021 Peer-review started: February 8, 2021 First decision: April 20, 2021 Revised: April 28, 2021 Accepted: June 22, 2021 Article in press: June 22, 2021 Published online: July 15, 2021
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background
The clinical relevance and the prevalence of fasting biochemical hypoglycemia (FBH) are poorly understood in a general population without diabetes.
Research motivation
FBH can be influenced by many factors, including age, sex, body mass, smoking, alcohol drinking, exercise levels, medications, and eating behaviors.
Research objectives
We determined the prevalence of FBH and investigated its association with potential risk factors in a population who did not have diabetes.
Research methods
In a cross-sectional study of 695613 people aged 40-74 years who had undergone a health check-up, clinical parameters and lifestyle-related factors were reviewed. FBH was defined as a fasting plasma glucose < 70 mg/dL (3.9 mmol/L) after overnight fasting, regardless of any symptoms.
Research results
The prevalence of FBH was very low (0.26%) in this study. A body mass index of ≤ 20.9 kg/m2 and current smoking were significantly associated with FBH, which was not altered by adjustment for age, sex, and pharmacotherapy for hypertension or dyslipidemia. When the data were analyzed according to sex, men in their 60s or 70s appeared more likely to experience FBH compared with their 40s, whereas men in their 50s and women aged ≥ 50 years appeared less likely to experience FBH.
Research conclusions
FBH was observed even in non-diabetic people, albeit at a very low frequency. FBH is robustly associated with low body mass and smoking, and its relationship with lifestyle factors varies according to sex.
Research perspectives
To identify causal relationships between FBH and relevant factors (underweight, smoking, men in their 60s and so on), a prospective, large-scale study of non-diabetic people should be conducted in the future.
