Blood Viscosity and Hematocrit as Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study

• Published in: American journal of epidemiology Vol. 168; no. 10; pp. 1153 - 1160
• Main Authors: TAMARIZ, Leonardo J, YOUNG, J. Hunter, PANKOW, James S, YEH, Hsin-Chieh, INES SCHMIDT, Maria, ASTOR, Brad, BRANCATI, Frederick L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cary, NC Oxford University Press 15.11.2008; Oxford Publishing Limited (England)
• Subjects: Analysis. Health state; Atherosclerosis (general aspects, experimental research); Atherosclerosis - blood; Atherosclerosis - etiology; Biological and medical sciences; Blood and lymphatic vessels; Blood tests; Blood Viscosity; Cardiology. Vascular system; Confidence Intervals; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diabetes; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - classification; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - epidemiology; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - etiology; Diabetes. Impaired glucose tolerance; Endocrine pancreas. Apud cells (diseases); Endocrinopathies; Epidemiology; Etiopathogenesis. Screening. Investigations. Target tissue resistance; Female; General aspects; Hematocrit; Humans; Incidence; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Medical sciences; Metabolic Syndrome; Middle Aged; Multicenter Studies as Topic; Original Contributions; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Risk Factors; Surveys and Questionnaires; United States - epidemiology; United States; North America; America; Endocrinopathy; Type 2 diabetes; Human; Pancreatic hormone; Hematocrit; Metabolic diseases; Cardiovascular disease; Metabolic syndrome; Epidemiology; Insulin; Blood; Vascular disease; Target tissue resistance; Oxidative phosphorylation; type 2; hematocrit; insulin resistance; metabolic syndrome X; oxidative phosphorylation; blood viscosity; diabetes mellitus; Atherosclerosis; Risk factor; Cardiovascular risk; Insulin resistance
• ISSN: 0002-9262; 1476-6256
• DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwn243

Several lines of evidence support the notion that elevated blood viscosity may predispose to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus by limiting delivery of glucose, insulin, and oxygen to metabolically active tissues. To test this hypothesis, the authors analyzed longitudinal data on 12,881 initially nondiabetic adults, aged 45-64 years, who were participants in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study (1987-1998). Whole blood viscosity was estimated by using a validated formula based on hematocrit and total plasma proteins at baseline. At baseline, estimated blood viscosity was independently associated with several features of the metabolic syndrome. In models adjusted simultaneously for known predictors of diabetes, estimated whole blood viscosity and hematocrit predicted incident type 2 diabetes mellitus in a graded fashion (P(trend (linear)) < 0.001): Compared with their counterparts in the lowest quartiles, adults in the highest quartile of blood viscosity (hazard ratio = 1.68, 95% confidence interval: 1.53, 1.84) and hematocrit (hazard ratio = 1.63, 95% confidence interval: 1.49, 1.79) were over 60% more likely to develop diabetes. Therefore, elevated blood viscosity and hematocrit deserve attention as emerging risk factors for insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus.