Using Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors to Predict Blood Glucose Levels

The purpose of this study was to identify the cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors or combinations of risk factors which were associated with undiagnosed and diagnosed diabetes mellitus. The National Health and Nutrition Exam Survey (NHANES), 1999-2004 was used to study predictors associated with CVD and plasma blood glucose category. A national sample of adults aged 20 and over (N=5258) with plasma blood glucose values was assessed. SAS was used to perform the weighted analyses. This sample included 50.23% men and 49.77% women. Fifty-five (55.76%) percent of the subjects were Non-Hispanic White, 19.51 % were Non-Hispanic Black, and 24.72% were Mexican American. The mean age was 46.64 year old. Thirty-nine (39.54%) percent of the sample had elevated glucose (≥ 100 mg/dl). There were 30.77% of the subjects who had pre-diabetes and 8.77% with provisional diagnosis of diabetes. Thirty-seven (39.77%) percent Non-Hispanic Whites, 31.77% Non-Hispanic Blacks, and 45.15% Mexican Americans had elevated glucose. When gender and ethnicity were used with the logistic regression model, waist circumference, systolic blood pressure and triglycerides were significant in predicting plasma blood glucose category. A model based on the demographic gender found waist circumference, high cholesterol, and diagnosed hypertension were significant predictors. Men were more likely than women to have elevated glucose. The significant findings were discussed and recommendations for further research were presented.