Abstract

Abstract 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 mellitus was defined by a blood glucose concentration of ≥7.0 mmol/liter on fasting or ≥11.1 mmol/liter while non-fasting and/or when a person had begun to receive treatment for diabetes. The multivariable hazard ratio of diabetes mellitus adjusted for age, baseline blood glucose level, fasting status, and other confounding variables among subjects who had a BMI of less than 18.5 kg/m² compared to those with a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 was 1.32 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.12, 1.56) in men aged 60-79 years and 1.31 (95%CI: 1.07, 1.60) in women aged 60-79 years. Underweight may be associated with risk of diabetes mellitus among older adults.