Changes in Features of the Metabolic Syndrome and Incident Impaired Glucose Regulation or Type 2 Diabetes in a Chinese Population

• 2-hPG, 2-h postload glucose
• FPG, fasting plasma glucose
• IGR, impaired glucose regulation
• IGT, impaired glucose tolerance
• NFG, normal fasting glucose
• NGT, normal glucose tolerance

The current understanding of the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes is mainly based on a large number of cross-sectional and prospective studies (1–4) in which nondiabetic individuals were followed for several years to determine incident cases of diabetes without repeating assessment of other metabolic characteristics except for assay of plasma glucose during follow-up. In fact, only the studies in the Pima Indian population (5–7) have examined the changes in anthropometric characteristics, insulin secretion, and insulin action during the progression from normal glucose tolerance (NGT) to impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) to diabetes. Thus far, no study has directly addressed the effects of changes in the components of the metabolic syndrome on the transition to diabetes in other populations. The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes in the features of the metabolic syndrome during the transition from one state of glucose homeostasis to another in a cohort of Chinese people and to understand the relative contributions of these changes to the development of impaired glucose regulation (IGR) or type 2 diabetes.